Smoke and Firewhiskey
by iLOVEFenrir
Summary: Coral is captured by Scabior and his men. He keeps her around for entertainment but will something develop between the two? Non-con, voilence, swearing...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just re-editing the chapters cause the inconsistency was pissing me off and I'm sure it was annoying you too. **

A small red ladybird crawled over the rough bark on the branch. The red and black covering its neat back was almost unnoticeable in the dark. Coral watched it from her bedroom window through binoculars. She had gotten them that morning, it was her seventeenth birthday. Dark brown hair was pulled back into a loose bun on top of her head; soft tendrils escaped and tickled her shoulder every time she moved her head.

Coral had always loved nature, especially at dusk. It was when the sun set; red and purple streaks across the sky. It was dusk now and she felt particularly comfortable. Coral suddenly put the binoculars down at the sound of a car door slamming. Coral's stomach dropped.

It was her father.

Or rather, her step-father. Joanne, her mother, had always been the loving wife and wonderful mother to Coral and her two older brothers. She had been forgiving, understanding, loving and compassionate. That was when her father was still around. But all that had changed when her father died seven years ago. He was found at the bottom of a staircase in a hotel on a business trip. Apparently, according to forensics (which she had found out through ear-wigging and a lot of sneaking around), he had died _before_ falling three flights of marble stairs. A fatal blow to the head, causing a cerebral haemorrhage. Coral had been furious when she found out they hadn't investigated further. Obviously someone had paid the police off.

Coral had always known her father didn't die of 'an unfortunate accident'. She tried to tell her mother but she wasn't ready to believe her. Coral's family had been dysfunctional ever since. Joanne married a new guy, Murray, purely because she needed the money to support her children. A few months after the wedding they all began to see him as the evil psychotic bastard he really was.

Coral turned round to hear a faint knocking on her door. She stood up and made her way over.

"Who is it?" Coral asked quietly.

"It's me, open up." Her gruff older brother's voice calmed her nerves.

Coral eased the creaking door open, "What is it?"

John made his way inside, "They're fighting again. It's getting fucking ridiculous."

"I know." Coral sighed and sat down on the edge of her mattress. She patted the space beside her and John joined her.

The sound of glass smashing followed by a shriek echoed through the house.

"Aah, fuck it." Coral stormed over to her windowsill and climbed up upon it, sliding the window further up.

"What are you doing?" John said.

"I'm gonna take a walk and think some things over."

"Okay," John said after a pause, "Just don't talk to any strangers and stay away from that dark part of the woods, you know the place?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Coral brushed off his warnings and slid down the roof as quietly as she could manage.

_I don't know why I'm bothering sneaking around it's not like they'd hear me over their own voices. _

Coral felt almost giddy with freedom as she stared up into the dark beauty of the night. Thick black clouds rolled over the dark blue of the sky as a soft breeze blew around her face. To avoid them seeing her, she clambered onto on overhanging tree branch just in case and climbed slowly from tree to tree

Coral stopped. She turned her head left, and right.

_Where the hell am I?_

Thick tall pines surrounded her, cutting out the little light available from the moon. The branch Coral was currently perched on gave a sudden crack, and then snapped. Coral tumbled to the ground, which unfortunately was four metres below her. Wood and leaves buried her as she hit the ground. Pain flooded her left side which had taken all the impact of her fall. Coral screamed.

_OUCH! Christ, I swear I'm not _that_ heavy. _

A few minutes passed before Coral built up the strength to reach out with her right hand and brush off the remaining foliage that lay on top of her. The branch which had supported her just a few minutes ago was lying across her leg. Coral couldn't move it so she lay there, bruised and cold from the ever dropping temperature.

A tear slipped from her eye as she realised that she might never be able to get up again, and would probably die there. Coral wiped the tear away from her cheek furiously.

_Jesus, stop being so melodramatic! You'll get up; someone just needs to find you first..._

_I'm in the middle of a fucking forest; the only people who would ever come out here would be the weirdos you cross the street to avoid._

_Oh, shit._

Coral opened her eyes once more to find a hand in front of her face. It was tanned and slightly grubby. Not to mention huge.

"Well are ya gonna take it or sit out 'ere all night?" A deep voice resounded from above her head. Coral swallowed and looked up. She hadn't heard him approach. Through the darkness she couldn't see anything past his elbow so she took the hand.

_Probably shouldn't _really_ be doing this..._

Coral was yanked up by the stranger, the branch coming free from her leg. The relief from the weight of the branch being lifted was suddenly countered by the pain of her side. The man supported her as he led her over to a tree. Coral was about to lean on it to catch her breath but he pushed her up against the wide trunk and shone a light in her face.

Coral could now see him. She cowered back into the tree as he loomed over her. A handsome face with rugged features was framed with wild, tangled hair, pulled back into a loose ribbon. His kohl rimmed icy blue eyes pierced her own deep chocolate ones. His eyes searched her face as his mouth pulled up into a malicious grin.

Coral was beginning to regret taking his hand more and more as each second passed.

"Well, what do we 'ave 'ere?" The stranger grinned down at her, a hungry grin which travelled up and down her body. Coral had never been so self-conscious in her entire life.

"W-what do you want?" Coral asked, trying to stop her knees from shaking.

"I found ya in distress an' I came to save ya." He lowered the light to just below her jaw line. "Don't I get a reward?" He began to trail the light along her neck. Coral shivered.

"Just leave me alone." Coral looked down, unable to stare into his fierce gaze anymore.

"That's not the answer I was lookin' for, gorgeous." The man brought one hand down to her bruised hip where he gave it a sharp squeeze.

"Get off me!" She squealed, pushing him away. He didn't move an inch. Coral didn't doubt that that would be purple in the morning.

"Ah, ah, aah." The man tutted to himself, "I wouldn't be doing that if I were you." He brought his wand up and waved it in front of her face.

"Oh, wow," Coral replied with sarcasm, "You have a stick which glows in the dark. I'm really scared now."

Coral began to question that sanity of the man.

"Of course you know what this is, you 'ave one yourself." The man said, annoyed.

"What the fuck are you on about?" Coral gave him a puzzled frown.

_I need to get away from him, and fast._

The man stepped backwards and brought his hand to his temple.

Coral seized the golden opportunity and brought her right knee up to his privates. The man, usually alert and aware of his surroundings, didn't see this coming and bent over and groaned.

Coral pushed herself away from the tree and found her left leg didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

_Probably adrenalin._

She bolted past the man and ran straight into another one.

_Fucking hell..._

This man was even taller than the other and was built like a tank. He had grey hair and what seemed to be slight whiskers. His orangey yellow eyes shone through the darkness as two arms came out to catch Coral. He twisted her around, one arm around her neck and one resting on her hip.

Coral didn't try to move now.

She heard sniggers and jeers from more men who came out of the shadows and circled them. Coral noted their dirty faces and worn clothes.

The man from before straightened up and stalked over to her, murder in his eyes.

Coral shrank back into the man behind her, earning a low purring noise.

_What the fuck is it standing behind me?_

He chuckled darkly before raising a hand, "You didn't think I'd approach a wounded girl without my men, did you?" He asked with sarcasm, gesturing to the men standing around her.

"Coward." Coral mumbled.

"I'm sorry," The man moved even closer, a pen-knife swinging in his grasp, "What was that?" He glared and held it at her neck.

"Nothing." She looked up at him through wet eyes.

"Good," He brushed the knife along her neck, "Now you're sayin' that you're a muggle. Am I correct?"

"What's a muggle?" Coral said, "Jesus, I'm completely lost..." She muttered the last part.

"I could always check what kind of blood she's got, Scabior." The man behind her raised a hand and grasped her hair, tilting her head back and exposing the creamy expanse of her neck.

"Nah, Greyback. Not yet." Scabior replied with a smirk.

Coral was confused to say the least, not to mention slightly wary of Greyback.

_What the hell are they going on about?_

"Look, love," The man called Scabior tangled a gloved hand in her hair, "If you're not willin' to tell me, then I guess I'll just have to take you back to camp." He brought the hand slowly down her face.

"What?" Coral said loudly, "You can't kidnap me, it's illegal! I'll report you to the authority-"

"Love, we are the authorities, "He grinned maliciously, "So good luck with that."

Coral stared up at the man as if he had three eyes.

"Come on then," He yelled, "Back to camp."

Several men disappeared with loud cracks, including the one holding her.

Coral stared around in astonishment.

"Stop with the act, love." Scabior moved forward and grasped both of her arms, waved a stick, and they were both gone.

**A/N: What d'ya think, eh? I would seriously like to know. Please review ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Second chapter guys! Hope you like it, please review ;)**

Coral and Scabior landed on the frozen ground with two loud thumps. Scabior was still holding onto Coral and was not about to let go. He moved his arms down from her shoulders to her waist where he began fiddling with the soft fabric of her top.

Coral's stomach turned as she was relieved of the feeling of being pulled through a rubber tube. She grabbed hold of Scabior's jacket as her world spun. Coral's knees nearly buckled. She thought she was going to throw up but she forced the feeling down and swallowed twice.

Scabior looked down at her, "Well, aren't you keen?" He grinned and slipped his hands under her top, his fingers getting closer to her bra strap than she liked.

Coral gave Scabior a disgusted expression before pushing away from him.

"Hey, alright, love." He stepped towards her, "No need to be so feisty." He grinned.

Coral continued to back up, before long she found herself backed up against a tree.

_Fuck._

Scabior moved swiftly and braced both arms beside her head on the trunk, effectively boxing her in.

"Now, are you goin' to be a good girl?" He brought a hand up to her hair, "Or will I 'ave to 'urt ya?"

"G-get off of me, _Scabior_." Coral said the last bit with a turned up nose, as if she would dirty herself by even saying it.

"Listen to me, love." Scabior encircled her neck loosely with his large hand.

"Why would I want to listen to a piece of filth that kidnapped me _and _threatened me with a knife?" Coral's courage was wavering, as was her tone.

"It's night time, ya see," He said tilting her head up slightly, "And I' about to 'it the sack, now you can either sleep in my tent-"

"No way!" Coral was definitely not going to share a tent with a strange man who seemed to have an even stranger interest in her.

"Or, you can sleep with Greyback and the rest o' them." Scabior smirked and tightened his hold on her neck, leaning forward. "What's it to be?"

Coral looked over at Greyback who was standing, fiddling with a pen-knife, tossing it up and striking the blade out. He looked at her at the mention of his name and grinned, baring sharp yellow teeth. Coral shivered.

Coral couldn't possibly contemplate sleeping with Scabior, who had an unhealthy behaviour, but she also had a feeling what Greyback's intentions towards her were. He was a weird one, but taller and wider than Scabior, so her escape plans were narrowed down.

"Fine." Coral mumbled.

"That's what I thought you'd say." Scabior wrapped an arm around her minute shoulders possessively and guided her towards a tiny tent.

"We're not both going to fit in here." Coral stated, staring down at the tent. It could fit one person in at most, two at a squeeze...

"Oh, c'mon, love," Scabior opened the flaps to the tent, "The act's gettin' a bit old now." He pushed her into a tent which was much larger inside than it was out. Coral had to blink just to make sure she wasn't imagining things.

Scabior strode forward and spun to face her in the centre of large living area. He raised his arms.

"Welcome to my 'umble abode." He grinned and gestured around.

Coral could see a huge king-size bed off to one side and a sink, toilet and stove boxed off to the left. She looked around warily.

"Now you're gonna 'ave to sleep in the bed." He grinned and stepped towards her.

"Well, where will you sleep then?" Coral already knew the answer as soon as the words left her lips.

"I, will sleep riiight next to ya, arm encircled around your gorgeous waist." Scabior smirked and took her forearms in a steel grip, pulling her close again.

"I'd rather sleep on the floor, outside, than with _you_." Coral had to crane her neck to look up into his malicious grin.

"I don't care what you'd rather do," He brought his face down to her neck and kissed it causing Coral to stiffen, "I'm the boss, so you'll sleep next to me, got that?" Coral nodded, a tear running down her cheek, she could almost _feel _his grin against her skin. Coral pushed away from Scabior with all the force her tired body could muster, he let her go and watched her walk over to the bed and curl up into a little ball in the middle of the mattress. Scabior stood staring for a few more seconds, baffled by her giving up already. He shook his head and walked outside to join the others for a beer.

Coral looked up just in time to see the tent's flap close and waver slightly in the cold breeze. She waited for a couple of minutes, listening to them laughing and clinking bottles together. Coral eased her way off the huge mattress with an audible creak. The laughter outside stopped, and all was silent.

_Shit, shit, shit, they've heard me. Okay, keep still. _

Coral didn't dare move a muscle until the chatter started up again, she let out a sigh and mulled over her options.

_Right, I can't go out the front entrance because they'll see me. I can't go out from under the side because then I'd have to move and they'd hear me, crap, crap, craaap. _

A sense of depression and hopelessness settled over Coral's brain like a thick, white fog. Tiredness has gotten the better of her emotions.

_Urgh, might as well get some sleep, I can figure out what I'm going to do in the morning. _

Coral peeled back the dirty looking duvet to find a surprisingly clean-ish mattress. Coral sighed and crawled down under the covers, pulling the duvet up to her chin. She folded her hands over her flat stomach and tried hard to fall asleep. But it never came.

_Maybe when I wake up it'll all just be a bad dream, nothing. I mean, magic isn't real, what they did earlier must have been some magician's tricks, oldest ones in the book..._

Coral closed her eyes and played her favourite song over and over in her head. Her soft voice humming along as if she wrote it herself. She had gotten through to the third replay when she heard footsteps. Coral quickly closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, as if to look asleep.

She felt the mattress sag slightly and something brush up against her arm. Coral moaned softly and turned to face the other way.

_Wow, I am so good at pretending to be asleep. _

To Coral's horror, she felt Scabior shift closer to her and snake an arm around her waist, pulling him against his toned chest. He exhaled loudly in her ear before whispering: "You can't fool me, love. I sleep veeery lightly so don't go planning any escapes." He pulled her even closer.

Coral squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on the steady pulse of her heartbeat.

**A/N: Sorry it's such a late update, review, review, review! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3, enjoy guys ;)**

It was around the middle of the night, that much Coral could tell. She was looking at her worn, black boot which was sticking out from under the duvet. She could see it, but not the fine detail of the leather. Coral's eyesight in the dark was just as good as the next person's but she wished it was better.

Scabior was asleep, and he was obviously lying about being a light sleeper because she could hear his loud snores and feel his chest take in long, deep breaths. His arm was still draped over her body but it was loose and didn't show any signs of movements.

_He's so not a light sleeper._

Coral saw this opportunity to escape and tried to take it. She lifted the corner of the duvet slightly, gaining an unwelcome breeze which froze her insides.

Scabior didn't move.

She lifted the blanket a bit more; Coral's arm and Scabior's were now exposed.

Scabior didn't move.

Coral flung the duvet's corner over him, doubling the layers. She was now fully exposed.

Scabior didn't move.

Coral swung her right leg off the bed lightly, along with her other.

Scabior moved.

Coral could suddenly feel Scabior's heavy arm tighten considerably around her body. She covered her mouth to stop herself gasping as he lifted his left leg and pushed it between hers. They were now completely entangled.

Scabior let out a deep sigh and pulled her _even_ closer.

_How the fuck am I supposed to move now?_

Coral didn't move for fourteen seconds, she desperately tried to slow her heart beat. It was so loud in her ears now, she was sure he could hear it.

_Right, if I quickly shove him off and run for the exit, I think I can make it. _

With a sickening surge of adrenalin, Coral shoved Scabior away from her and landed on the floor. She picked herself up and looked back at Scabior who was now fully awake. Instead of looking furious which she had predicted, a devilish grin was planted on his rugged features. Coral backed away slowly. As soon as she walked into a table she turned and sprinted for the exit.

_Oh my god, I'm not going to make it..._

Coral turned right and was next to some black, smouldered ashes of a long ago burnt out fire when she saw Greyback.

He had just put out a cigarette and was staring at her, smoke escaped from his mouth as he stalked forward. Like a wolf after a deer.

"Now, what would you be doing outside at such a late hour, girly?" His deep rumble sent shivers down her spine.

Coral dashed under his extended arm and into the forest. She heard him growl and found the energy to push herself faster. Trees flitted past her but she could only think of one thing: getting away from Scabior.

It wasn't long before she heard footsteps behind her which matched the rhythm of hers. Coral risked a fleeting glance behind her and saw Scabior grinning.

_How the hell has he caught up with me?_

Coral ran faster and faster, her legs were aching like mad and her lungs screamed in protest but she couldn't stop. Not now.

Coral could see a slope and ran towards it, she had no idea what was on the other side but she didn't care. Coral could no longer hear the harsh gasps or footsteps of Scabior behind. She slowed to a stop and looked back.

There was no one.

_He can't have given up; he was right behind me, wasn't he?_

Coral turned back around and walked to the edge of the slope, she could see a vast lake in front of her. It started about fifty yards ahead of more trees and muddy grass. Coral was only focused on escaping as she stumbled down the slope.

A twisting root came out of nowhere and grabbed Coral's ankle as she was halfway down. It pulled her sideways and she lost her balance, tumbling down the slope on her side. She landed at the bottom, covered in leaves and twigs. Coral was too scared to move when a familiar face came into view.

Scabior. His mouth pulled into a wide grin.

He crouched down next to her head and picked some dead leaves from her knotted hair. Coral shyed away from his touch and tried to crawl away. She turned onto her stomach and moved forward, only to be stopped by Scabior who grabbed her leg, yanked her towards him and straddled her waist.

"Get off me!" Coral cried, her arms grasping at the earth, trying to pull herself forward.

"No," Scabior replied grinning, "I don't think I will." He got a handful of her hair, yanked her head backwards and whispered in her ear.

"What I don't get," Scabior sat on her back, careful not to apply much pressure, "Is why you didn't just apparate away." He stood up suddenly, pulling her with him. Coral hissed as a handful of hair was ripped from her skull.

Scabior spun Coral around until she was cowering under him.

"What the hell is apparating?" Coral leaned backwards as Scabior's face came closer, his steely blue eyes searched hers.

"Don't play dumb with me, sweetheart. I've had just about enough of you and your lies." Scabior growled as he took the back of her neck in both hands and held it tightly.

"Get off me!" Coral started to get hysterical, "I don't know what apparating its! I don't know what any of it is! I'm so confused..." Coral's words were lost in broken sobs which racked her body.

Scabior tilted her head back and placed his mouth in the crook of her neck. He inhaled and nipped the sensitive skin there lightly. Coral stopped crying from fear as a shiver ran up her spine.

"You better not be lyin'." Scabior grazed his lips along her neck, "Because if you are," Scabior leaned out and brought her face up to his, "I'll kill you."

Scabior's words rung in her ears. Coral had no doubt in her mind that he was telling the truth.

Scabior let go of her neck to grip her forearm tightly. He reached into his jacket and retrieved his wand. With a flick Coral felt herself being forced through a rubber tube.

Cold air hit them as they returned to camp. Coral's head was spinning but she had no time to recover as Scabior dragged her into the others' tent.

"W-what are you doing?" Coral cried, "This isn't your tent."

"I know." Coral saw Scabior grin out of the corner of her eye. She suddenly thrashed about, hitting him and pushing herself backwards. Scabior simply grabbed her waist and threw her over his shoulder; his arm around her knees.

Coral was unceremoniously dropped on the cold ground. She looked up into the cruel, unforgiving gaze of Scabior and the rest of his men who were smirking down at her.

"Seeing as ya don't like sleepin' with me, you can stay 'ere with Greyback an' the others," Scabior winked, "'Ave fun."

Scabior strode out of the tent and Coral was left in a room full of men worse than Scabior himself.

_Fucking great._

**A/N: Please review! Love you guys ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Please review guys! Warning: Very hawt sex ;)**

Coral scrabbled back on her bum, heels and hands until she hit her head on a wooden table. She gasped and felt the back of her head; her fingers touched some nerves and pain shot through her skull. As Coral brought her fingers back in front of her eyes she saw blood and let out a small wail of terror. A drop of crimson trickled down her finger and dropped from her wrist. Coral felt nauseous with fear as she looked up suddenly to see Greyback inhale and grin maliciously.

She let out a shriek as Greyback stepped forward. His arm swooped down like a bird of prey and snaked around her waist, lifting her to him. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. Coral's feet were no longer on the ground and she was pressed so hard against his rock hard chest that she could hardly breathe. Coral swung her legs wildly until one luckily caught Greyback hard on the shin. He grunted and dropped her to the floor. The other men jeered as she tried desperately to scramble away but before Coral could reach the edge of the tent, there was someone on top of her. He flipper her over and ran his calloused hands over her chest and down to her jeans. Coral wiggled as his hands deftly undid the two buttons on her jeans. As he pulled the zipper down, Coral's hand came up to smack him around the face. Momentarily dazed, the snatcher did not notice the hand come up again to smack him once more with even more force. Coral used this opportune moment to wriggle out from under him and run out of the tent.

Coral quickly did her jeans up and looked over at the fire. Scabior was perched on a small log smoking. He glanced up and grinned, his gaze fixed above her head.

"'Avin' fun there, wolfie?" Scabior said, standing up and sauntering over to them, dropping his smoked stub on the ground. As she looked at him he met her gaze. Coral was momentarily unable to tear her eyes away from his as he stared at her, analysing her, as if he were looking at a baby deer from the eyes of a starving wolf.

Predatory.

His authoritive presence emanated throughout the cold air and hit Coral in the chest.

Her breathing quickened.

Greyback staggered forward, grabbed a hold of Coral's hair and threw her to the ground. He growled in fury and swung his foot back to kick her in the stomach. Coral was quick though and had managed to scamper away and scramble into a standing position. She stared up at him fearfully before Scabior wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Coral struggled but he just held on tighter.

"Move Scabior! I'm gonna rip this bitch up." Greyback snarled at him.

"'Old on a mo." Scabior said calmly extending an arm towards Greyback.

"What?" Greyback grunted.

"'Ow about, I 'ave 'er now, an' you can 'ave her later. 'Cause I won't be able to fuck her once you've finished with her. She'll just be a mangled corpse"

Coral stared up at Scabior in horror at the fact that he could talk about her death so calmly. She elbowed him suddenly in the stomach but Scabior wrapped an arm around her waist and one around her neck, pressing his chest to her back. She squealed and wriggled once more but stayed put.

"Sshh," He cooed in her ear, "Calm down, love. We 'aven't even started yet." Scabior ginned and kissed the side of her neck, relishing the way she wriggled in fright.

"Get in there, Scabs!" A tall snatcher said loudly from behind Greyback. The werewolf turned round and growled but Scabior just replied with, "That's what I'm intendin' to do right about now."

Coral struggled against Scabior furiously but it was of no use, he hauled her into his tent and over to the queen size bed. With one swift movement she was underneath him on top of the sheets. Scabior stayed on top of her for what seemed like ages but was probably only a couple of seconds. His eyes travelled up and down her body until finally he made a move to get his wand. He removed it from his pocket and with one flick, Coral was laying spread eagle with her four limbs firmly attached the bed posts.

_Please, god, don't let him do this..._

Scabior put his wand back into his jacket pocket and jumped off the bed. He quickly removed his jacket, shirt, shoes and jeans. He stood only in his briefs. Scabior climbed back onto the bed and removed her clothing piece by piece until she was left in her black undergarments. Coral immediately cursed for wearing her only bra with the broken strap.

Scabior let out a wolf whistle.

Scabior reached forward and tugged her bra off to reveal two rounded, perky breasts. Just the sight of her hardened nipples had a familiar and quite welcome feeling gathering in his lower abdomen.

"You 'ave lovely tits, dahlin'." Scabior crudely commented. Tears rolled down Coral's cheeks. She was by no means a virgin but that didn't diminish in any way the fact that this was still technically rape.

Scabior's head came forward to suck on her right breast. His tongue flicked over her nipple and she gasped. Scabior chuckled to himself and continued sucking, kneading and occasionally biting her breasts.

Coral was trying desperately to hold in the moans but they were rising from her chest on their own accord. Scabior noticed this and leant back, straddling her waist.

"Don't fight it, love." He said, leaning back in to capture her mouth in his. Coral tried to purse her lips but his tongue had found a way into her mouth. He tasted her, his tongue exploring every crevice possible. A couple of years back, Coral would have found this disgusting but now she was finding it hard to resist.

Scabior's hand slowly made its way down to her knickers. He rubbed her over the fabric and elicited a few repressed moans. Scabior suddenly ripped both their underwear of and slid inside her. Coral gasped quickly.

Scabior started moving at a slow pace which soon began to be agonising for Coral. Her stomach was tightening into a knot which was begging to be released. Scabior's hand came back down to her nub and started rubbing.

As Scabior increased his pace her moans became louder and more frequent.

Scabior put his head down by Coral's ear, "Scream for me love." He whispered.

Coral shook her head. Unsatisfied by this Scabior bit down hard on her neck, rivulets of blood dripping down her alabaster skin. His tongue came out to lick them up.

Coral suddenly let out a shriek from the pain and Scabior then moved faster and faster until Coral was moaning his name.

His thrusts were met with her groans and they were both seeing colours in a wave of euphoria. With some final thrusts Coral and Scabior both came, his seed shot up inside her and he rode the orgasm back down. Scabior pulled out of her and collapsed on top, exhausted.

Before he fell asleep Scabior reached across the bed for his wand. He undid her bindings and muttered a contraceptive spell against her stomach. He rolled the unconscious Coral over to her side before snuggling back underneath the covers and falling asleep with his arm around her waist.

Coral awoke to the sound of her own breathing. She rolled over onto her back and expected to look up at her poster covered ceiling. Instead, her eyes were met with the blank canvas material of the tent. The past few days had been very true and she had indeed been kidnapped by mad men. She was glad to at least not to have woken up with the same man who she had gone to sleep with.

Coral looked down in shock to see she was naked. She instinctively pulled up the covers to her shoulders and peered around the tent. Her clothes were strewn randomly across the muddy floor. Coral wrapped the sheet around her and began picking up her clothes, putting them on in turn. She hissed in pain when pulling her t-shirt over her head when the fabric tugged at her neck. Coral looked around and saw a mirror over the sink to the left side of the tent. Warily, she walked over to it and peered at her reflection.

She almost sighed with relief to find that she didn't look as bad as she felt. Her hair was knotted and she had patches of mud all over her but she looked pretty much the same as when she'd left home. Coral did gasp when she saw her neck though. A bite mark the size of half her fist was placed just below her ear, trails of dried blood wiped down the side. She reached forward to wash her hands and hopefully her neck when someone grabbed her from behind. Coral let out a shriek that was quickly muffled by a huge hand.

"Shame we didn't get to finish what we started last night, eh?" A low growl said in her ear.

Greyback spun Coral around and stared down at her, holding her arms by her side. She wriggled but Greyback tucked his head into the crook of her neck and inhaled. She froze as a hand made its way down her back to her jeans. He squeezed her bottom hard, making her hiss in pain as his claws cut through the fabric. Greyback continued holding her, occasionally nipping at her skin whilst Coral silently took it. She had no idea what he would do if she struggled.

Greyback suddenly grabbed a firm hold on her hair and yanked her head back to expose her neck. He almost grinned when he say a bite mark was already placed there. Coral's neck was beginning to ache as her brought a clawed finger to her throat and traced the crescent shaped wound. She hissed as his skin came into contact the raw wound.

"Looks like someone got here before me." He murmured down at Coral. Just as Greyback decided to press himself up against her, the tent opened and a snatcher walked in. To her relief he mentioned something about breakfast to which Greyback let go of her.

"Er, Greyback...what are you doin', you know she's Scabior's." The snatcher said uncertainly. Greyback stepped away from Coral and walked over to the man. Coral's knees buckled from the fear and she sunk to the ground silently, pressing her back up against the sink. She looked around for her little pack of cigarettes and found them under the bed. She crawled over, grabbed them and lit one, inhaling deeply and blowing a plume of smoke upwards. Nicotine clouded her brain and took the edge off her fear and apparent hunger.

Greyback grabbed the snatcher's collar and brought his face close. Coral could see that the man was quivering slightly under Greyback's hold.

"You're not gonna mention this little run in to Scabior, are ya?" He snarled, fisting the man's jacket tighter. The snatcher gave a weak nod instead and backed away when Greyback dropped him. Just as Coral was beginning to think she was safe, Greyback came over and braced his arm over her head.

"You're just another little girl Scabior picked up. Once he's done with you you'll be mine." He finished with a manic grin.

Coral dropped her cigarette but quickly picked it up before the tent caught fire. She took another large drag and curled up into a foetal position crying.

**A/N: Review please! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A:N/ Please review guys ;)**

Coral stayed curled up on the floor of the tent all day. Not responding to Scabior's taunts or the dirty looks from other snatchers as they walked by the tent in turn. It was like she was numb, numb from all of it. Numb from the rape, numb from the threats, numb from the confusion...

The evening approached faster than she would have liked, but she was asleep on the floor next to Scabior's bed before they all came home. She had been quietly sobbing to herself, worrying about her brothers and mother. She couldn't give less of a fuck about her step-father. He would be fine.

Coral spent that whole night lying on the floor. Scabior had gone to bed too drunk to come and lift her into bed. She arched her back and shifted out from under a pillow which had fallen on her face sometime during the night. She peered around and realised that it was only around dawn. Standing up slowly, she looked over at Scabior who had fallen face first onto the bed fully clothed. As Coral walked around the bed she saw his right arm hanging off the mattress and a pool of drool on his pillow. She wrinkled her nose at this but couldn't stop a shiver running down her spine when she noticed how muscular he was. Sure, last night she could tell that his limbs were much longer than hers and his tanned chest was much wider than hers but just concentrating purely on his body really frightened her.

Coral forced herself to look away and walked outside slowly. She was formulating a plan in her head as to how she should escape. But at the end of every plan she would suddenly think _but Scabior would catch me._

Coral lifted the flap of the tent and a rough breeze blew past her. Scabior grunted and rolled over in bed, Coral froze but he didn't wake. She quickly left the warmth of the tent and walked over to a dry-ish looking log and sat down on it. Coral withdrew a cigarette from her pocket and lit it. After a couple of drags she gave a harsh cough. Smoker's cough. Coral's health deteriorated a little since she had started smoking. She used to be a runner once, doing after school training and races, but that had been months ago. Coral got kicked off the team when she couldn't keep up with the others, her doctor even told her she could develop a respiratory disease if she didn't quit. Coral had noticed Scabior smoking yesterday and wondered if he could run as quickly as she used to.

Scabior.

What a weird name. Coral found his appearance even weirder; plaid pants, worn boots and an over-sized leather jacket. Not to mention that horrible brown scarf he wore around his neck. She seriously wondered what the hell was wrong with him. He seemed to think she was a, a... Coral didn't know. She didn't know what she had seen him holding earlier, a stick with a light on the end? Or what had he meant when he said she must have one too? And what did muggle mean? Was it an insult or something? And how had they 'transported' from one place to another without using some form of transport?

These questions whirred around in Coral's brain until she began to feel quite dizzy. Coral sat for a while before finishing off her cigarette and stubbing it out on the log she was sitting on. As she got up from her seated position and walked back towards the tent, she stepped inside and noticed Scabior already standing there, smirking. He cocked his head to one side and studied her before moving forward, much to her dislike. She was hoping he would return to leaving her well alone once more but Coral found herself stumbling backwards as he stalked forward.

Soon enough Coral was standing at the edge of the tent, Scabior's toned chest pressed up against her own. She froze as his hand came up to her neck before running along her collarbone and then to her jaw. Her breath hitched as he leaned forward and inhaled from the crook of her neck. He chuckled quietly once more and stepped back, walking out into the fresh air.

Coral's knees buckled under the pressure of supporting her shaking frame and she fell to the ground. She rested her head on her bony, crossed arms and listened quietly to what was happening outside.

Voices could be heard from around the camp; annoyed grumbles which muttered things about it being too early to be able to function properly. Only minutes later a mouth-watering aroma of fried eggs and bacon wafted into the tent and swirled around Coral, tempting her to come outside. She sat for a minute, debating whether or not to venture out but an angry growl from her stomach decided her fate.

Coral got up carefully and stepped outside, trying not to draw attention to herself. This effect was immediately ruined when she tripped over a peg holding the tent up and walked straight into someone. Coral fell to the ground and landed on top of a muscular snatcher who swore furiously, shoved her off and stalked over to one of the logs. Coral's face turned red as she stared up into the eyes of the other Snatchers. When she got to Scabior he held her gaze for an unnerving amount of time before grinning and striding over to her.

"Come on then," He grunted extending a hand, "You gonna take it or what."

"Do you remember what happened last time you helped me up?" She said, her voice tinged with sarcasm. Scabior frowned and leant down to yank her up, he then proceed to shove her down on the nearest log and roughly handed her a plate of eggs and bacon.

She looked down at the plate and then up at him again.

"I 'aven't poisoned it love," He said brusquely, "If I wanted you dead I would have 'ad Greyback see to that days ago." He nodded in the werewolf's general direction, who was currently tucking into something which was covered in blood.

After breakfast Scabior stood in the middle of the circle and gave a little speech about how today was going to be different because they were actually going to _try _to catch some people. He also added to Greyback that any prisoners eaten would come out of his pay. Coral stole a horrified glance over at him which he returned with a wolfish grin.

She sat there with a look of slight unease but on the inside her stomach was churning uncomfortably. Scabior mentioned her name in the last sentence but Coral wasn't listening.

"What was that last part?" Coral mumbled.

"You'll be coming with us today." Scabior grinned.

Coral's stomach threatened to spew up the food she had just managed to get down. He mind instantly flickered to trafficking and the sex slave trade.

_I wander where he works?_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral's thoughts on the sex trade dissolved after they found interest even in a particularly ugly man and his 2 female friends who looked not as bad but still a little odd. One was tall and gangly with greasy hair and pale skin whilst the other was shorter and tanned with a nose stud and green eyes. The more Coral looked at her the more she seemed attractive.

They had found them in an invisible tent, the only reason they knew it was there because Coral walked straight through the wards and tripped over a tent peg. Again.

Coral swore and stood up, brushing debris off her trousers whilst Scabior and the rest surrounded the 3 like an armed police force.

They went through the whole charade of asking them for their names and blood statuses, and all the while Coral was standing there looking more confused than she'd possibly ever been. Finally when they revealed their names after a lot of intimidation by Greyback, the Half Blood and 2 Mud Bloods were taken with them. Because it was forbidden to work under Voldemort and sully one's blood at the same time, Greyback chose the girl with the nose stud who was luckily a Half Blood. Because she had refused to be taken by him and was kicking and screaming, Greyback had quickly hit her over the head and proceeded to carry her limp form over his huge shoulder.

Scabior and his snatcher crew, accompanied by Coral, arrived at the Ministry of Magic 2 minutes later. As they stepped out of the fireplace, Scabior stepped forward too quickly and knocked Coral over. She landed on her front, scraping her knees and left hand slightly.

_Can this day get ANY worse?_

Scabior chuckled, "If I 'ad a sickle every time you fell over..."

Coral glared at him, knowing probably that he was referring to money.

They walked down the long corridor quickly, Coral still limping slightly from the falls she recently received. She was slightly wary of the sympathetic gazes the people offered her, as if they were aware the fate that would befall her here. They turned round a corner and into the centre of the huge jade green tile encrusted building. A dome stretched upwards infinitely and in the middle stood an ugly statue. Coral saw it was a huge M supported by lots of ugly, straining little people. She didn't get a chance to ask before they entered an elevator.

It was a tight squeeze with Scabior, Greyback, Coral, 5 other snatchers and 3 captives, but they managed it. When the elevator juddered to a halt and the doors opened, Coral suddenly grabbed hold of the nearest thing in a desperate attempt to not fall over for the fourth time that day. This 'thing' just happened to be Scabior's jacket. As her hands grabbed the fabric nearest to his lower back he felt his trousers tighten and she swore he let out a small moan. When the snatchers at the front bundled out she quickly withdrew her hands as if he had a flesh eating virus and followed them down a series of long corridors.

After spiralling down 2 flights of stairs they walked along a final corridor and stood at the dark wooden doors a seemingly large room. Coral shivered; as they had descended the temperature had dropped considerably, although none of the other men seemed to be fazed by it.

Scabior suddenly spoke, "Right, I'll go inside with Filkins, Alex and Warren," He nodded to a tall youth with short brown hair and cruel eyes, a shorter tanned blonde whom Coral had fallen on earlier, and a much taller, burlier guy with short light brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Greyback, Jared and Roland, you stay out here with Coral, and make sure she don't run off." Scabior sighed at the tall muscley guy with black hair and the shorter, slimmer man with reddish brown hair. Scabior didn't bother looking at Greyback because he was a hopeless case.

The trial took much longer than expected because their names had gotten mixed up and the Dementors were growing impatient. Scabior slumped in his seat and wandered how long it would be before he was let out and could see Coral again, mostly to scare because she looked so gorgeous when she was frightened.

After nearly two hours Greyback walked off muttering something over his shoulder like, "I need a piss, stay there."

The other two snatchers were sitting on the floor, Roland already asleep and Jared drifting off. Coral leaned against the cold wall and turned her head towards them. 15 more minutes and they would both be out for at least 10 minutes. She shifted her legs twice in the following 7 minutes and looked back towards the men, mildly surprised they had both nodded off. Her heart began to race as she realised that now was the perfect time to plan an escape.

_Plan? You've got no time for that now, run!_

She tiptoed out of sight but as soon as they wouldn't be able to see her Coral's legs took off on their own down the eerie corridor. After wandering up 2 flights of stairs the temperature increased and she felt her mood lift slightly, but when she got to the top she stopped herself before anyone could see her. They would most likely wonder why she was running around like a mad woman so she slowed her pace and continued walking. Because Coral was a muggle, she had no idea where she was or how exactly to escape. Being a normal girl of 17 she knew how elevators worked and remembered hazily the route which they had taken to get to that awful room downstairs.

Coral stepped into an elevator and looked upwards to see a set of golden handles connected to the roof. She grasped them tightly, surprised she didn't notice them before and pressed a few random buttons which eventually delivered her to her desired destination.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Finally, when the trial had ended, Scabior walked out of the room with a bag of gold for each of them. He looked puzzled for a moment and looked towards Jared and Roland.

"OI." He said loudly. Jared and Roland awoke from their short nap.

"Where's Coral?" Jared and Roland looked around and then said, "We dunno."

Scabior's face flashed with anger, "Where's Greyback?" He yelled.

"He went off for a piss ages ago." Roland mumbled.

Scabior barely managed to contain his anger with the thought that when he caught Coral, the look of utter defeat on her face would be so sweet. He suddenly grinned at the thought and turned his head to the sound of heavy footsteps and rasped breathing.

"Greyback." Scabior said, knowing that Coral might be well gone and his sense of smell was better than Scabior's.

"What?" Greyback looked irritated.

"Find Coral."

**A/N: Please review ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm sorry this is a reeeeeeeeeeally short chapter. I just thought you could do with a small update.**

Greyback walked along the corridor at a quick pace followed by Scabior, Filkins, Jared, Roland, Alex and Warren.

Runcorn appeared out of nowhere and stopped at the sight of Filkins.

"Oi. You." He said loudly moving towards Filkins. Filkins shrunk back looking guilty and a tiny bit frightened.

Scabior stopped and turned towards Filkins and gave him an impatient glare. "What 'ave you done now?"

Runcorn ignored Scabior and proceeded to grab Filkins by the collar roughly.

Scabior was nearly yelling, "Hey! Would anyone like to tell me what's goin' on?" Again he was ignored.

Runcorn looked Filkins in the eye and said, "I told you to leave her alone. This is the fourth time she's come to me complaining about being groped by you."

Scabior lay a hand on Runcorn's shoulder and pulled him back a bit, "So what if she 'as? He's just a kid messin' around."

Runcorn answered in a deep voice which sounded as if he were repressing a growl, "She's my niece. Apart from that, I've given him multiple warnings and for the fourth time I told him I would punish him by confiscating his wand and the wands of all the men in his group."

Greyback stepped forward, "Hold on a minute, he was the one touchin' her, we don't even know who she is!"

Runcorn removed his hand from Filkins and held it out expectantly, "Either you hand your wands over to me now or I'll have Umbridge fire you.

Scabior growled and handed his wand over. The others did the same with the same amount of reluctance.

Scabior was now in a foul mood as he stepped away from Runcorn and walked towards the entrance.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral stepped out from behind a pillar and walked forward slowly and awkwardly. She kept her head low and her eyes on the floor. Coral was currently walking from the elevator to the massive statue so she could mull over her next plans. When she sat down and leant against it she noticed there was no one else around.

Not a soul.

This surprised her and Coral wondered if they had cast an invisibility spell or something. She then came to the conclusion that the rush hour was over and they must all be working. She was also surprised to see how normal the people who worked here looked. They didn't wear long hats with stars on or long black robes and pointy shoes. She sighed and pushed the strap of her vest back onto her bony shoulder.

Coral's brown eyes drifted up from the floor and along the huge green fireplaces lining the arched wall. She knew that they had arrived in one of those and started to jog over there, managing not to cough. She walked along until she saw a tiny smudge on the ground stained with 2 little drops of blood where she had fallen over earlier. No one would notice it unless they were actually looking for it.

"_If I 'ad a sickle every time you fell over_." Coral impersonated in a low down pompous tone. She snorted and stepped inside the fireplace. It smelt of gasoline and was emitting a warm-ish glow. Coral took a step out again, absolutely stumped as to what to do. She looked to the left, her body still facing the fireplace and saw someone standing about 6 metres away. Fear ran down her neck and pooled in the bottom of her stomach. She swallowed a non-existent lump. The man's chapped lips curled up into a cruel smirk and his eyes burnt a fierce orange.

Greyback.

He strode forward slowly as she backed up carefully. Coral's gut instinct then kicked in as he picked up his speed and she ran in the opposite direction. Coral heard his heavy footsteps along with an angry grunt and glanced behind to see that he was gaining on her. And fast.

Coral sped round the upcoming corner and saw Jared and Roland, the snatchers who were supposedly 'guarding' her earlier. She skidded to a halt and swung around to see Alex and Warren moving forward at that treacherously slow pace which made her hairs stand up on end. Coral took off again but in a different direction, down a shadier corridor which lined behind the fireplaces. She panicked when she saw Filkins walking towards her.

Coral spun around and her heart skipped a beat when her eyes took in Scabior's lean body swaggering towards her. She felt herself suddenly back up against Filkins' tall body. He deftly wrapped his hands around her upper arms and held them tightly, pulling her towards him. Scabior grinned as she whimpered in pain.

When he got closer he saw a number of emotions swirling in those delicious brown orbs. Dread. Fear. Regret. Suspicion. Confusion. It was the fear he found the most appealing. He brought his hand up to her face and trailed a finger along her pulse which had sped up considerably the closer he got.

Scabior was so close now that she could smell his skin. Not to say it was the sweetest perfume but it wasn't completely unwelcome either. But the reality of being sandwiched between two men who murder for money suddenly became too much. Coral's breathing became quicker and quicker until she was hyperventilating and blacked out, going limp against the two snatchers.

**A/N: Please review ma lovelies. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This chapter is a whole lot longer than the last. Hope you enjoy!**

Scabior looked down at Coral and laughed. She had actually passed out from fear.

He couldn't wait until he _wanted_ her scared.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral awoke in an incredibly uncomfortable position. She was tied to a tree upside down. Coral's vision blurred for a second before she recognised her surroundings. She was right at the edge of Scabior's camp but no one was visible. Coral could feel all the blood rush to her head as she swung helplessly from her left foot, the rope digging into her ankle.

Suddenly a familiar pair of plaid trousers came into view. Scabior.

"You alright up there?" Scabior asked in a friendly tone. Coral recognised the underlying taunt.

She was much higher up than she originally thought; her head about the same height as Scabior's shoulders.

"Get me down from here, please." Coral could already see the blackness coming in from the edges of her sight, ready to swallow her whole.

"Only after you promise not to run away again." Scabior stood closer to her, his mouth only centimetres from hers. Coral was starting to feel dizzy again.

"Okay, okay! Please, I'm gonna faint again..." Coral tried to focus on the 2 day old stubble on Scabior's jaw line.

Scabior muttered something and Coral was released suddenly. She shrieked as the ground zoomed closer, only to be caught by Scabior. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her upside down, before flipping her over and standing her up, close to him.

Coral's knees buckled but she steadied herself on Scabior's jacket. Scabior snaked a hand around her waist and let it slide to below her t-shirt. Coral remembered how this was like the first time she had apparated to his camp. Coral pushed away from him, just like before, and walked towards Scabior's tent.

She sat down on the edge of the bed timidly and pressed her palm to her forehead, trying to ease the headache that she could already feel coming on.

Scabior didn't join her, but instead chuckled to himself and joined the rest of his men.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That day had gone surprisingly quickly, Coral had been busy making dinner for the second half of the day and Scabior and his crew were out snatching. Before they left for another day at work, Scabior had cornered her against the stove and Coral's heart rate had risen considerably as his hand traced the pulse along her neck, but he pulled back soon after, telling her in a jaunty tone he 'wouldn't want her to faint again'.

Before they had gone out though, Jared reminded Scabior to tell Coral about the taboo. So he sat down and told her about not saying the name, but not the reasoning behind it.

Coral sat stirring stew over a hearty fire and thought to herself, _what's the big deal about saying a name?_

Scabior still wanted Coral to be unaware of the danger she could put herself in, purely because he wanted to be control. To have the knowledge that she didn't. He had spelled the name out for her so it wasn't triggered but Coral had put it together in her head and had been playing it over and over in her mind all day.

Scabior wouldn't be back for at least another hour and the sky was getting darker and darker.

"I mean," Coral mused out loud, "What can possibly be 'so dangerous for me' to say a name out loud."

Coral then did a very stupid thing that only the most curious of minds would have done.

She stood up and raised her voice, "Voldemort!"

Suddenly 7 men appeared around her in a series of loud cracks. She swallowed as her gaze swept over the tall men, complete with dark eyes and red bands around their arms.

Snatchers.

The leader strutted forward and gave her a look which made Coral uncomfortable, as if he were mentally undressing her.

Coral saw he had a good look at her so she took in his appearances too.

He had dark which was cropped short, and light blue eyes, not unlike Scabior's but his gaze wasn't as intense. The weird thing was that he looked exactly like Jared, almost like twins. Except this snatcher had a small scar which dragged the corner of his mouth upwards so it was in a permanent cruel grin.

He was a little taller and wider built than Scabior which was something Coral definitely did not need.

"Jared?" She whispered.

The snatcher looked her up and down again before saying cockily, "Aah," He sighed, "You must know my brother," He gestured to her, "Are you his little fuck buddy?"

Coral stepped back, angry at his insolence but still fearful at her situation.

Coral stumbled over a sharp rock and fell onto her backside.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She muttered before strong arms yanked her up and held her tightly.

"Looks like we don't 'ave to worry 'bout you runnin' away" A short snatcher behind Jake jeered.

Coral's cheeks flushed from the embarrassment and looked down.

Jake's hand came out of nowhere and stroked the side of her face with surprising softness. But this had nothing to do with the words which came out of his mouth, "We're gonna make a lot of money off you." He grinned.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Scabior apparated back to camp, with huge bags of golden galleons in his hands and a grin on his face. Today had been a successful day; they had caught 8 Mudbloods, two of which were eaten by Greyback but the rest still provided them with more than enough to get by.

Scabior saw the stew on its own and frowned. _Where was Coral?_

Scabior called out towards the tent, "Coral?" There came no answer, so Scabior walked quickly into the tent and dumped the galleons next to his bed and looked around.

She wasn't in the tent, nor was she outside. Scabior tried to remember if he had left the wards up and frowned. He had.

Scabior walked back outside and saw Jared which reminded him of their conversation earlier that morning.

"Shit!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral struggled in the snatcher's grip as Jake leant down and covered her mouth with his own. It was forceful and rough, unlike his touch from earlier, and Coral could feel her fear rising with each helpless second. She quickly jutted her knee up in a sudden burst of courage and broke away from the other snatcher's grip.

Coral ran forward with speed she hadn't had in years, whipping past the other snatchers in flurry of brown hair and flailing arms.

She had gotten about 10 or so metres before a spell hit her square in the back and she crumpled to the floor, her nose giving a worrying crunch.

Coral heard footsteps and was yanked up roughly. Jake strode towards her, looking furious.

His hand shot out and stuck her across the cheek, sending her head sideways with the impact.

He gasped from the sudden pain and tears escaped from her eyes.

Her head was brought up again and Jake looked at her nose, frowning. He then brought two fingers up and held it, then twisted it. Coral screamed as the peculiar pain shot through her face again. Blood spurted from her nose and ran down into her mouth, the coppery taste clinging to her tongue.

"Right," He announced to the other snatchers, "Let's go visit my dear little brother."

**A/N: Aarrrghh! What's gonna happen? PLEASE review ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Oh yeah, Warren isn't mine – I snatched him from Hollyoaks – he was the main villain before he got arrested for murder and left the series.**

Coral's arms were held tightly behind her back as they apparated to Scabior's camp. Coral was dreading the consequences of her curiosity.

Scabior and his men turned their heads to the sound of apparition and Scabior's eyes widened, before narrowing again.

Jacob strode forward in front of Coral and gave Scabior a condescending smile. He could feel Coral burning holes in the back of his head with her glare.

Scabior stood to his full height and demanded, "Oi. She's mine, give 'er back now!"

Jacob leant on one leg and picked the grit out of his nails nonchalantly, "I see that you want her back," He looked back up at Scabior, his head tilted to one side, "But what I'm really curious about is how much you're willing to pay to get her back." He gave a menacing smirk.

Scabior eyed him levelly before saying lowly, "What do you want."

Jacob smirked again and looked around at Scabior's men then back at him, "How much money did you make today?"

Scabior's nostrils flared as he glowered at Jacob. _The little bastard was going to trade Coral for his hard earned cash._

"Not much." Scabior replied, hoping he could get away with fooling Jacob into thinking he had all the money Scabior had.

"You see I don't believe you." Jacob motioned for the man holding Coral to bring her forward.

Scabior suddenly tensed, his body taking a defensive pose. He watched as Coral was thrown to Jacob who caught her effortlessly and held his wand to her neck. His mouth was at her ear and although Scabior couldn't hear what he was saying, by the look of fear on Coral's face he could guess it wasn't nice.

Scabior watched as Jacob taunted her relentlessly until finally he snapped.

"Fine!" He shouted, much to the surprise of his men.

"Scabior," Alex warned, "What are you doing?"

"Give me her back an' you can 'ave our money." Scabior muttered, turning his face away from his men.

Jacob grinned, "What was that, Scabior?"

"Don't you fucking dare trade in that whore for our cash!" Warren shouted from behind Alex.

"I'll do what I fuckin' well want to!" Scabior turned to shout over his shoulder at Warren.

He turned back to Jacob, "Give her back," Scabior said louder and slower, "And you can have our money."

Jacob's lips turned up at the edges as he watched Scabior's men shout at him in anger and disbelief.

Coral watched in shock as Scabior summoned the money from his tent and threw Jacob the money. Her face suddenly lit up as she realised he was willing to give up all his money just to get her back.

"Now give 'er here!" Scabior yelled angrily.

Jacob shoved her over in his direction, as if she were just an inanimate object. Coral then managed not to fall over and was quickly brought into Scabior's embrace.

He held her closely and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. He muttered against her neck, "I thought I'd lost you."

Coral's eyes pricked with tears when she thought maybe he did care for her after all. This shortly lived hope died when he withdrew and shoved her away from him. Coral fell to the ground.

"You're not gonna get away from me so easy next time, love." His menacing tone promised what it had said.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral screamed as she heard her ankle crack when Scabior gave her a swift stomp on her foot. She tried to crawl away on her belly but he had just grabbed her legs and hauled her back again. The other men had sensed Scabior to be in a dangerously angry mood and quickly scarpered, leaving the defenceless girl alone with him.

He kept one foot on the middle of her back and pressed down until her cries became louder. He loved listening to those screams. They were raw and came from her very core.

Scabior relished in the thought of making her scream for another reason.

He pushed her down harder down into the dirt and watched as her arms uselessly tried to pry his foot away from her back but they could not reach. He took his foot off her back and gave her a quick jab in the ribs, waiting for that harmonious wail that brought a shiver of pleasure down his spine.

Scabior couldn't resist her moans of agony and gave her broken ankle a nudge, earning a curse word and insult from underneath her breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't 'ear ya, what was that?" Scabior's eyes burnt with amusement as he watched her insult him.

"I don't know how you can keep torturing innocent people for your own sick, twisted pleasure," She sat up and twisted her body around to face him, "It's disgusting." She glowered at him.

Scabior smiled sweetly, mocking her, "Well, love. You've really gotta see it from my perspective." He tilted his head to the side and waited for the comeback which would ultimately bring her even more pain.

"I'd love to, _Scabior_," She said his name like it left a bitter taste on her tongue, "But I just can't seem to get my head that _far_ up my arse."

Scabior's expression was cold and calculating for a moment which worried Coral. She felt his icy blue eyes pierce her protective invisible shield and she quivered.

He then stepped forward and swung his hand back to slap her across the cheek. Her head was thrown sideways from the impact and she took a second before glaring back up at him from under her lashes and spitting at his feet.

Scabior leapt onto her, pinning her thin wrists to the ground. His mouth was suddenly everywhere, on her mouth, down her neck and all over her chest.

Her bit the soft flesh of her neck possessively and ground his hips against hers. Coral could barely breathe from the rush of fear and excitement and she could feel that sickly dread of his erection pressed against her womanhood. Every time he moved, she moaned, feeling little sparks which ignited in that region with the friction.

His tongue came out to taste her skin and Coral moved her head upwards, trying to deny what her body was reacting to. Scabior's mouth ran back up to her mouth and her lips parted slightly. He didn't pause to think as his primal instincts took over, gripping her hips and claiming her mouth as his own.

Coral crunched her eyes up tight and tried to muster up that song which brought her back to her old life. When all she had to worry about was school, her parent's fighting and the occasional bad hair day. Coral concentrated on the first line of Ballad of Dwight Frye by Alice Cooper.

_Mommy where's daddy? He's been gone for so long.  
>Do you think he'll ever come home?<em>

Coral's eyes pricked with the threat of tears as she remembered her dad. He was one of the most wonderful people she had ever met and her heart wrenched as she thought of all those great moments she had shared with him.

As Coral was distracted with the memories of her past, she failed to notice Scabior had removed her trousers and underwear, leaving her bottom half bare to his hands which were running up and down her legs.

His hand trailed down her side until it reached its destination and started to stroke her wet folds. Coral bit her bottom lip to stop the moans escaping and she almost succeeded until his plunged a finger into her, then another and another. Coral, without realising, had arched her back to give him better access and was breathing hard with her mouth open.

Scabior removed his member from its tight restraints in less time that she thought was possible and shoved into her, pushing them both further into the mud as he pounded in and out relentlessly.

Coral's screams were her way of begging him to stop but they were music to his ears and merely spurred him on further.

She held on and held on and tensed and relaxed, trying to block out everything until finally he stopped, shoving into her once more and groaning as he did. Coral could feel his seed shoot up into her and she felt sick to her stomach. But Coral didn't have much time to think as her vision darkened until she passed out at last.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral's eyes flickered open. And then shut. It wasn't like when you woke up and had to retrace your steps and tried to remember what had happened the night before. She knew exactly what had gone on, mainly because the rape had possessed her mind for the entire night. It had seeped into every crack and printed itself on the underside of her eyelids. It had been permanently burnt into her brain and didn't show signs of fading away any time soon.

It wasn't like the first time because this time she hadn't really been expecting it. Of course the probability of it happening had been in the back of her mind but her hopes that he was glad to see her and she would be forgiven lurched in the forefront and blocked out any other rationalised thinking.

The second she saw the fabric of the canvas tent Coral shut her eyes and imagined she were back at home, having a well deserved lie in on the weekend. Coral gently squeezed the fabric of the bedding in her hands and furrowed her brown when she felt what was in her left hand.

Coral's eyes opened fractionally and she peered over to see Scabior's hand in her own. Coral blinked twice and turned her head to see his face exceptionally close to her own. She jumped and shuffled back a bit, only to fall off the side of the bed. Coral landed with a thud on the hard wooden flooring and moaned in pain. She could feel pain blossom along the bruises she had acquired from Scabior last night.

Coral lay on her back, making no attempt to get back up whatsoever. There was no need for pondering her situation and figuring out how to escape, she had already been down that road. And it had led her to Scabior, every single time.

Scabior was an arsehole, of that she was absolutely certain. The only thing driving her now was the challenge of being the most annoying person she could towards him.

_That could be fun._ If he would make her life hell, she would also.

Coral grinned, her eyes still closed. She sighed heavily and opened her eyes again. Scabior's dark features were looming inches above hers.

"Argh!" She shrieked and tried to scramble away but Scabior jumped down from the bed and crouched next to her. Coral saw an opening to her left, quickly shuffling underneath the bed. Scabior was far too large to fit under there, realising he grunted in frustration.

Coral looked at him and exhaled in relief. Seeing his scowl she cheekily stuck her tongue out at him, this only cause his arm to shoot forward and grab her shoulder. Coral wriggled around with what little room she had left.

Greyback spoke loudly, walking into the tent, "Boss, we need to go into town for some new supplies- what the fuck are you doing?"

Scabior turned his head and glanced at the wolf. He then retracted his arm slowly and stood up, trying to retain what little dignity he had left.

He quickly got dressed and walked away from the bed. He looked at the wolf and jerked his thumb towards the bed. Greyback nodded and grinned.

Coral hadn't heard anything and was still breathing hard under the bed. She was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic and wondered whether it would be safe to crawl out again. But then she saw Greyback's huge black boots approach and she scuttled further away from the end.

Greyback's deep grumble resounded from above her, "Right girly, you come out now or I'll make you."

Coral considered her options; either she came out from under the bed and had to face an angry Scabior and an arrogant Greyback, oooorr, stay under the bed until the day she died and never see either of them every again.

Coral chose the second option and mumbled a childish, "No."

Coral then heard a long pause before a loud grunt as Greyback lifted the bed up with his two hands. She shrieked as he lifted the end up and leant against it when it was at head height.

He grinned.

Coral quickly got to her feet and tried to dodge past him but he dropped the bed which clattered to the floor and caught her around the waist. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply, smelling the fear which was rolling off her in waves. Coral's arms were trapped under his meaty ones and were not coming to her rescue as she wished. Coral's head was leant away as far as it would go but she could still smell the putrid odour of blood and raw meat.

She grimaced as his tongue trailed down the length of her face. He gave her a playful bite on the neck before releasing her. Coral wiped the side of her face with the back of her hand and walked out, unsure whether being inside with him, or outside with Scabior was best.

Scabior sat on his own, away from the rest of his men who looked mightily pissed off at what he had done yesterday, but they daren't mention it in front of Scabior for fear he might kill them. Or worse. Consequently, they had absolutely no money left. As soon as Coral exited the tent they all looked up at scowled at her. Her cheeks turned a pale pink and she walked over to an unoccupied log and sat there. One of the snatchers spat in her direction and she felt a stone hit her head. Coral's head snapped up and the glared at them all.

Why couldn't they see that none of this was her fault? She didn't ask to get snatched, she certainly didn't asked to get raped. Twice. And now they were acting like she had practically _begged_ them to take her back.

"Boss," Filkins moaned, "We ain't got no food."

"Well magic some up then." He said before returning to study his wand in detail.

"Aaw, that stuff tastes like shit though." He sighed. The others nodded in agreement.

"GO GET SOME FUCKING FOOD THEN!" Scabior yelled in frustration.

Greyback walked over to them, "Boss – we needed to get some supplies from town anyway."

"Fine." Scabior pursed his lips and pinched the bridge of his nose, "We'll go now."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral walked along lazily, shuffling her feet at the back of the group. Scabior had insisted she stay at the front where he could see her but she had found walking in between Greyback and Scabior less than pleasurable and had slowly migrated to the back.

They were walking the streets of a large muggle town further west than usual, near Birmingham. Coral used to go into town to hand out with her friends and get away from her hectic home life. She always associated cities with places full of lots of different types of people. All those she saw in town were quite plain, normal looking people.

She didn't recognise anyone but then again, why would she?

Coral had accidently walked into Alex when they all stopped to decide whether to go into a shop or not. She mumbled an apology and stepped back.

Scabior nodded to Greyback who then smiled and jogged off to the butcher's on the corner. The others parted different ways.

"Back 'ere in an hour or so." Scabior called after them. Coral followed right behind Warren's large form and tried to hide from Scabior. Warren noticed this though and turned around, grabbing her hair and shoving her back to Scabior.

"Arsehole." Coral mumbled under her breath, rubbing the sore spot on her head.

Scabior stepped close to her and picked a random strand of her hair, bringing it to his nose and grinning. She stepped back but was stopped by an arm which slinked around her waist, pulling her closer.

"C'mon then." Scabior finally said.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Light footsteps darted along the cobbled streets in front of larger, heavier ones which smacked along the ground after.

Coral had tried to fool Scabior into thinking she had just gone to get herself a sandwich and a couple of razors and deodorants. She _had_, but then she had run off in the opposite direction, clutching the Tesco's bag to her chest. Dodging the people who were everywhere was a challenge for Coral, but not for Scabior. He effortlessly weaved in and out of the crowds with ease. He loved the chase, and the moment when his prey knew they were finally caught, but he was getting rather tired of Coral running off all the time.

It wasn't as fun anymore, and it always ended up with her landing back in the same position; in his grasp. Or Greyback's, or Filkins'...

But there was no way in hell Coral was giving up this time, continuing to live with Scabior was a definite no go. He was cruel, and cold, and heartless, and sly, and all the things you would expect a monster from a fairytale to be, not a man.

But Coral knew this area quite well, having grown up only a couple of miles away. This was one of the places she used to go as a teen, but rarely since the new shopping centre opened closer to her.

If only Coral could get a bus - that would take her straight past her village and drop her off at the end. Coral's home was at the other end of the village, up a slight incline, apart from the other houses. It was a pale cream colour with light brown beams straddling the outside and inside of her house, holding it up. The interior walls were laden with floral wallpaper and black and white photos of celebrities and musicians.

Someone with a bike zoomed past Coral and her heart skipped a beat. She skidded to a halt and Scabior ran into the back of her, tackling her to the ground. The air was knocked out of the both of them and people were starting to stare but she couldn't care less, her leg shooting out and slamming into his face. Scabior's hand gripped onto her ankle with surprising force but she used her other foot to kick it off.

She pushed up from the ground, leaving her bag behind her along with a swearing Scabior and ran around the corner along to a bus stop which was harbouring a double decker. Coral looked behind her and, pleased she couldn't see him, jumped on, right before it left.

Coral didn't get a chance to catch her breath as she ran upstairs and looked down, out of the window. He was nowhere to be seen and probably didn't know where she was. Coral ducked down for a few minutes just to make sure no one was chasing her. Coral's breath had slowed considerably as she sat back up in her chair. But the adrenalin had long since left her weary form and she broke down into tears, salty drops landing on her knees.

Coral reached into her pocket for a scrunched up tissue and she dabbed at her eyes, then her nose.

Coral noticed that there was no one on the upstairs of the bus. Not one soul. She noticed a group of people at the back on the lower layer but up there she was all alone.

Coral glanced out the window and noticed that she must be on the wrong bus, as it had turned away from her village. Coral swore and thumped the seat with her fist.

Only a few minutes later Coral had dozed off into a light nap, but a jolt from the bus had soon woken her. Coral smoothed back her hair and exhaled slowly. She hadn't noticed the people who had joined her though.

Suddenly a hand came down hard upon her right shoulder and she gasped before another hand clamped down over her mouth. Coral's eyes widened further as a man of about twenty sat down on front of her. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a knife which he pointed at her neck.

Coral's windpipe was nearly crushed as the guy behind her wrapped a lean arm around her neck and placed his mouth next to her ear, "Don't move," he chuckled darkly, "Don't even fuckin' breath."

**A/N: Please review – it could go a lot of different ways but I've planned most of the next chapter already so it's all good ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: And omg I can't think of anymore characters so I nicked Brendan from Hollyoaks. Seriously lacking originality here guys. **

The realisation of what was happening hit Coral like a freight train. No, she was not being re-snatched and taken back to Scabior, nor was she being ambushed by a pair of drunken youths on their night out. These men were far more dangerous.

Coral took in the features of the man in front of her. He was tall, lean and had dark hair and a shaved head. His features were slightly angular and he had a scar along his top lip. He looked Albanian or Yugoslavian.

The man behind her stunk of smoke and was muttering things to the other man in a rough accent, the language sounded to be Russian but she knew it was not. She could tell they were dealers in the sex trade and she was about to be taken somewhere very dark indeed.

Coral's mind suddenly sped up and she raced through ideas in her mind ridiculously quickly. She needed to get out of there, and fast. But not yet, she had to bide her time and escape when the moment was right. Yes, these men were dangerous, but all they had were knives. If she had outwitted Scabior, who had a _magical wand_, she could outwit these two easily.

Coral shuddered at the ragged inhale of the man behind her as he smelt her hair. She had washed it that morning and was regretting it with every passing second.

The man in front of her grinned at her obvious discomfort and ran the knife along the length of her chin and back again. She squirmed under the feeling of the cold steel and nearly sighed in relief when the bus stopped. The men both stood up then, pulling her with them.

The man holding her whispered in her ear, "When we get out – you act like my girlfriend, comprendé?"

Coral gave him a mute nod in understanding and he pushed her down the stairs. When they were at the bottom he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close.

"Put your arm around my waist." He muttered and she complied timidly, trying not to notice how much muscle there was.

As they stepped out onto the street Coral didn't recognise her surroundings. It looked to be a rather large city, like London. But she had no idea how large it would be. According to how people were dressed she would hazard a guess at a fairly wealthy place, the streets were free of rubbish and the buildings were relatively clean. It could have been somewhere north of Cambridge or somewhere close by, and if that was the case then she was miles from home.

The two men crossed the street, the larger one with Coral tucked under his arm. They walked into a suspiciously dark alleyway at the side of a deserted street and knocked on an invisible door which had appeared from nowhere. Coral suddenly became extremely apprehensive as the door swung open to reveal a huge bouncer whose size blocked off most of the doorframe. He was wearing black shades even though it was only nearing the end of the afternoon.

The man behind Coral swiftly grabbed her hair to make sure she didn't try to run off. The bouncer stepped aside, recognising their faces and they walked through, along a series of narrow corridors and up two flights of stairs. They kept walking until finally they reached a rather large door. The first man knocked four times and was then let in by another massive thug.

Coral sensed what was to come and ground her feet firmly into the floor. The man behind her grunted in frustration and gave a swift yank on her hair, pulling her forward again. Coral was then roughly shoved into a seat, her arms tied behind her with some rope. She looked around and took in her surroundings. There was a large desk in front of her and behind the desk sat a rather tall, slim man with dark hair and a dark moustache. His eyes were a dark blue and held knowledge, far more than she had at that precise moment.

"What do you want with me?" Coral finally managed to say, the tension produced by him studying her getting too much.

"Well, Katie, I'm sure you have a fair idea." He said, his sinister tone held a sight Irish lilt to it.

"Wait a minute," Coral said, "Katie?"

"Yes," He stuck his chin out, then retracted it again, "That is your name, you clever girl." The sarcasm dripped from his words.

"But my name's not Katie." Coral told him. She was starting to think this was something other than the sex trade, usually they wouldn't ask for names or anything of the sort. This was something different.

"Look, stop makin' this harder for yourself, Katie," He leant forward over the desk, "You took the job offer because you needed it and now you return empty handed, coincidence?"

"What the actual hell are you talking about?" She furrowed her brows.

The man behind her stepped forwards and pointed something hard at the back of her neck. Coral gulped.

"Let me remind you, okay?" He said condescendingly, "You came to me, wanting money, I gave you fifty grams of coke, and in return, you were supposed to give me the money."

Coral's jaw dropped open.

"Look, I think you've got me mixed up with someone else, I-" Coral stopped as she heard him pull back the reload.

The man behind the desk inhaled through his nose and tilted his head to the side, "Katie, I know what you're tryin' to do, but trust me, it ain't gonna work."

"No, please," Her voice rose a few octaves, "I really don't know what you're talking about, please!"

The moustached man clasped his hands together, elbows leaning on the smooth top of the table. He glanced up at the man behind her and gave a quick nod.

Coral's eyes widened and before she could let out a scream she heard the gun go off.

Everything went fuzzy for a bit as Coral scrunched her eyes up tightly. She waited for her world to black out but it never happened. Ever so slowly, Coral reopened her eyes, seeing that the desk in front of her had a bullet sized hole in it.

The man behind her leaned over her and rested his head on her shoulder. Coral tried to shift away but the rope was starting to cut into her wrists.

"Now, Katie," His Irish accent brought her eyes back up to his, "You know now I mean business, so you have an extended period of one week to get me the money, otherwise," he tilted his head to the other side, "I'll some and get you myself."

Coral's throat went dry and she found her breathing shallow and quick.

"Walker, take her out of the building." He signalled to the man with the gun.

"Wait," Coral said as her wrists were being untied, "Let's assume I don't know your name, what do I call you?"

The man paused before saying quietly, "Brendan."

Coral was thrown out onto the street and she landed on her knees and hands. Coral swore and looked at the grazed parts or her palms. She quickly looked around to see it anyone else was looking but there was no one left. The air had grown colder and the sky had darkened slightly.

Coral shuffled back and sat on the curb, hugging her knees to herself. She stayed like that for two hours, slowly drifting off into a world of sleep. The images of Scabior, Greyback and now Brendan swirled around in her head, mocking her, taunting her.

Coral thought she heard a dark chuckle as a calloused hand smoothed over her cheek and her tired eyes shot open. There was no one about though, this particular street was deserted, derelict of all life. It didn't surprise Coral though, knowing exactly who resided in the building behind her.

Coral got to her feet and started walking, where, she wasn't exactly sure. Coral's subconscious retraced the route she had taken from where they first arrived in town, back to the high street. She began at the top and worked her way down the slight incline, peering into shop windows as she went by. They were all shut, the shutters pulled across like bars of a prison cell.

She stumbled over a loose rock and jogged for a bit, something in the middle of the street catching her eye. Coral walked forwards a little more, until she could see that it was her bag from earlier. Coral lunged for it and scrabbled around for the sandwich she had brought. Ripping the packet to shreds, she took out one and sunk her teeth into the soft bread, savouring the smoky taste of bacon and egg. It was much better than some of the food back at camp, and that was if she ever got any.

Coral sat on the ground until she had finished her entire sandwich. The grumbling in her stomach had stopped and she sat there for a while, breathing in the crisp evening air and enjoying the new found freedom she had. Of course there was another problem which had recently arisen, but she accepted the fact that she would never be completely free from him.

Coral pulled the white plastic bag closer to herself and looked inside properly to see what she had bought. Coral found a packet of razors, two deodorants, some shampoo and some soap.

All she needed now was a shower.

A cool breeze rushed past her, nipping at her cheeks and she looked up into the orange sky, streaked with navy clouds. It was getting late, far too late to be wandering the streets alone as she very well knew. It was winter and as they night drew on, it would get much darker and colder than it was already.

Coral got up and put her rubbish back into the plastic bag, brushing the crumbs off onto the floor with her free hand. Coral saw that on the corner of the street there was the butcher's Greyback had visited as they arrived. She walked over to it slowly and realised there were no shutters and the door was unlocked. She pushed it open slightly and glanced up at the walls, noticing a clock on one of them. It read 6:14pm.

She walked forward again and sat down on one of the window ledges, wide enough for someone to comfortably lie down on. She assumed t was for seating customers when they were waiting for their order. Although she was inside a building, away from the cold streets, she still didn't feel safe. The only way Coral could feel remotely secure would be if she had a weapon of some sort.

Walking back over to the frozen meat counter, Coral saw through the glass a range of long filleting knives on the other side. She leant over the counter and retrieved one of them, pleased to see the blade was nearly the length of her forearm. She swung it around a bit, slashing the throats of invisible fighters. She chuckled to herself and walked back over to the ledge, lying down with the knife right beside her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Scabior roared, the sound deafening to anyone within earshot. He picked up bottle after empty bottle and smashed it over the table.

Coral had escaped.

"How the fuck could I have let 'er get away?" He asked himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. Greyback had walked in on him earlier but had run out soon after a bottle missed his face by a mere inch.

"I'm gonna get that little bitch." He muttered angrily.

Scabior walked outside again and yelled at his men, "We're goin' after 'er!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral awoke to the sound of her own breathing, nothing else. She glanced over at the clock on the fall wall. It read 7:39am. Someone would come down the stairs and open the shop in under an hour. She needed to get out of there, but where to? This was the safest place she had found since she ran away. Coral sat up and looked outside of the window, it was still relatively dark but had lightened considerably since when she fell asleep. There was no one about and Coral was beginning to feel an unwelcome sense of dread cloud her veins. She could feel something awful was about to happen but she just couldn't pinpoint the object.

Coral's heart beat sped up as images of Scabior hunting her flitted through her mind, and she nearly screamed when she heard the back door to the shop open. A middle aged man walked through, whistling and shutting the door behind him as he went. When he saw Coral he yelled out in surprise.

"Wait, wait – I can explain!" She shouted, raising the knife in her hand. She saw the weapon and his reaction to it and slowly put it back down on the window ledge.

"What the hell are you doing in my shop, girly?" He asked. Coral visibly shuddered at the name, reminding herself of Greyback.

"I, I have nowhere else to go." She hung her arms in defeat.

"What?" He asked in a deep but gentler tone than before.

"I got kidnapped a couple of weeks back and I escaped. Here." She gestured around her.

"You were kidnapped? Well why'd ya not call the police then?" Coral sighed at his indignant tone, he wouldn't understand.

"You wouldn't understand," She said, "It was a very complicated situation."

"Michael, what's goin' on?" A female voice echoed down the stairs behind him.

"Nothing." He called back, not taking his eyes off Coral.

A plump woman stood in the doorframe, her face was kind but frown lines creased her forehead.

"Who's this?" She asked in a worried voice.

"Apparently she was kidnapped and decided to take refuge in the local butchers." Michael replied back, his voice holding a sarcastic tinge.

The little plump woman walked forward and clung to her husband's tall frame.

"Why are you really 'ere, love?" She asked patiently.

"I'm telling the truth!" Coral insisted, "I really was kidnapped, and look," She pointed to the Tesco's bag, "That plastic bag holds all of my worldly possessions."

The woman's eyebrows furrowed before she left her husband's side and walked over to the bag, inspecting its contents.

"But, all there is in here is some spray and some razors." She said, puzzled.

"They needed to go into town for some more supplies and they thought they'd take me with them, that's all I could afford with the money he gave me." Coral explained.

"You're not going to believe her, are you, Linda?" Michael asked.

Linda looked from Coral back to him, trying to find and answer before she answered, "Why not?"

"But Lin-"

"Look, she needs our help and I'll be damned if she doesn't get it." Linda said, a sense of authority in her words.

Coral gave her a grateful smile.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want." Linda told her, walking forward and embracing Coral in a warm hug which reminded her of her mother. Tears pricked in Coral's eyes and she let them run down her cheeks, glad to have found one nice person.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral swung her legs from the bed she had been given for the night. It was s single and was not at comfy as Scabior's, but she sure preferred it.

Linda and Michael were in their early fifties and had two children which were studying in sixth form and university. This meant that the room Coral was currently sitting in belonged to their daughter, Sophie, who was eighteen. They had discussed names and ages over supper, and Coral had worked up quite a back story. She had based it mainly on true facts but had not given them her true address or by whom she was kidnapped. She also didn't mention anything about her little run in with the Irish drug dealer.

It was exactly ten to ten and Coral felt a sudden ease at being in a warm house again. The walls to her room were a pale yellow, littered with posters to bands she loved. There was a small lamp on her bedside table which was switched on and provided her room with enough light to see what she was doing. The window was open and a gently breeze kept her room cool enough to sleep in.

Coral decided it was time to get some sleep and forget about her troubled, even if for just a few hours. She pulled the sleeves of her new pyjamas down and snuggled underneath the duvet, switching the lamp off and listening to the sounds of the local night life going on outside.

Ten minutes later and Coral's eyes were nearly closed. She was in that state where you get really tired, but let your body take its own time to fall asleep. She was so relaxed she couldn't move a muscle and her breathing was low and slow. Coral's eyes had just closed when she heard a noise.

She opened her eyes in annoyance at the noise and sat up, looking towards the window, then the door. A shadow moved out in the corridor and she heard heavy footsteps parade around just outside her room. Coral's breathing quickened and she slowly stood up, moving over to the door and grabbing the doorknob tightly. She turned it until she heard the click and slowly opened it. The door suddenly gave a loud creak and the pacing stopped. Coral held her breath and swung the door open the rest of the way. In the darkness she could see nothing so Coral flicked on the landing light. On the opposite side of the landing Scabior winked at her and then gave her a slight smirk of triumph as he stalked forward. Coral screamed.

Linda shook Coral's shoulders frantically in an attempt to wake her up.

"Coral," She shouted, "Coral are you alright, dear?"

Her eyes snapped open and stared into Linda's until her mind could process where she was again. She looked up at her and let out a large breath of relief.

"He was there," Was all she said, "He was right there."

Coral fell asleep again.

**A/N: Aargh, when's Scabior gonna find her? REVIEW PLEEEESE. **


	10. Chapter 10

Hey Guys, because of all the stories being deleted, I have followed Rosieali and uploaded all my fics onto yourfanction . Just type it into google (must be no spaces) and click on the first link. The website top is blue with a pen and pencil. I will start to upload all of my things onto there because there's no limit on violence! Message me if you can't get on there and I'll help you. Thank you for all reviewing, it means so much to me ;) See you soon


	11. Chapter 11

Hello again my lovelies, I meant to type yourfanfiction instead of yourfanction – sorry. And I've decided to upload my stories onto both websites just in case mine aren't deleted, but I'm pretty sure they will be. Anyway, you can find my back up at yourfanfiction . net – just type it into google and click on the first link that pops up ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: LOL, all of you are like "I really don't want the old people to die." Makes me feel kinda guilty, especially when you have a gut sense of dread when you know Scabior's hunting her, and will let **_**nothing**_** get in his way. Oh yeah, and the t.v. programme Coral was watching was Southpark, and yes, it is very offensive.**

Coral awoke once more to the sound of her breathing. A car passed in the distance and she was brought back to normality. Scabior wasn't in her new home last night. He couldn't be, anyway. It was just a dream.

Coral glanced over at a little alarm clock on the side of her bed. It read 8:02am. Coral sighed and slung her legs out of bed and made her way over to the bathroom, grabbing a towel on her way. Coral stripped off until she was wearing just her black boxers and bra. Coral leaned over the sink and inspected her teeth in the mirror. After picking out a piece of chicken from last night she leant back and inhaled, reaching upwards. Coral grimaced as her ribs stuck out. Last night had been the first proper meal in a long while.

Coral looked back up at her reflection, her eyes were drooping, her skin white, and her lips chapped.

_I've got to start taking better care of myself. _

Coral spat into the sink and placed her hands on the side, looking back up from under her fringe. Coral could have sworn she saw a pair of ice cold blue eyes but Coral squeezed hers shut and ignored that feeling of dread which had nestled in her stomach.

Coral stepped into the shower and washed her hair and body, taking a total of fifteen minutes before stepping out and drying off again. Coral realised her breath was starting to smell so she brushed her teeth before retiring to the yellow bedroom. Coral dried her hair and straightened it with some appliances she found in one of the drawers belonging to the ancient white dresser. The paint was peeling off the curved sides and Coral was reminded of when she saw one like it in a vintage warehouse.

Coral freshened up with the sickly sweet deodorant she saw on top of one of the cupboards. She then pulled herself into some black, loose jogging bottoms tapered at the bottom, a black camisole and a grey, cotton jumper with 'Don't push it' in capitals across the front.

Coral made her way downstairs and was greeted with one bright, 'Good mornin', Dearie!' and one unenthusiastic grumble.

Coral smiled and lifted herself up to the counter. She reached across for a piece of toast fresh from the toaster but her hand was smacked away.

"Wait a minute!" Linda scolded. Coral grinned at her and watched as she covered the piece of toast with a thin layer of strawberry jam.

When Linda handed her the toast Coral muttered a 'Cheers' before taking a huge bite out of it. Linda frowned as Coral began talking, crumbs flying from her mouth.

"Is there anyfink I c'n get ya today?" Coral mumbled, a hand covering her mouth.

"Ooh, now you come to mention it, we need some supplies from the supermarket." Linda said, putting away the jam and butter.

"Sure, I can do that," Coral said, more coherent as she swallowed the last remains of her breakfast, "It's the least I can do seeing as you let me stay the night."

"Awh, that's alright, Dearie. You stay as long as you like." Linda replied sweetly as she bustled around the kitchen, cleaning up after Michael.

Coral jumped off the counter and walked over to the table where she sat down, reaching for her shoes which were underneath. Coral slipped them over her socks and glanced at the list Linda had placed in front of her. It included things like Milk, Eggs, Coffee, Salt, Tomatoes and such of the like.

Coral snatched up the list and placed it in her back pocket. Just as she was about to exit the room Linda exclaimed, "Ooh! I forgot to give you money, hold on a minute."

"Oh, no that's alright, I have some of my own-" Coral was cut off by the solid weight of a purse being planted in her hand.

"Get something for yourself." Linda added, smiling at her.

Coral embraced Linda in a warm hug before walking out and down the hall. As she swung the front door open of the shop she could hear Michael's voice, "Be careful." His voice travelled down the stairs.

Coral shouted back, "I will."

Browsing the isles, Coral hummed a song to herself.

"Oh, Alice, dear where have you been?" She picked up a rotten tomato and replaced it on the shelf.

"So near, so far, so in between," Coral tied the bag on the tomatoes and placed them in the little green basket hanging from her left arm.

"What have you heard, what have you seen?" She chucked in some cheese, green milk and a carton of eggs.

"Alice, Alice, please, Alice!" Coral hummed again as she got the remaining things on the list. As she walked along the last isle to the checkout she bumped into a rather large teenage boy. She saw the red band on his arm and shrieked. The boy stepped back, startled by her outburst. Coral looked down at his arm and saw that the red band was part of the design on his t-shirt. It had another red band around the other arm and two around his torso.

Coral mumbled an apology and ran down the rest of the frozen isle to the checkout. She dropped the basket onto the conveyer belt and slammed the milk down on the top, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Careful, love!" A weak voice came from the old man sitting behind it.

Coral smiled apologetically at him before unloading the other items with more care. She placed the basket underneath, packed the stuff into a plastic bag and paid the man, before walking out and glancing down the street.

The town had woken and more people were bustling about with their shopping. Coral looked left and right, and satisfied she could see no one she could recognise, she walked back into the butchers. Coral had to push past a long queue to get to the door which led upstairs. Michael, feeling more awake than earlier, gave her a cheery smile before returning to serving his customer. Coral made her way upstairs and to the kitchen where she placed the bag of groceries on the kitchen table.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Shut your fuckin' face, you fuckin' Jew!" Cartman yelled, the pom pom on his hat jumping up and down as he screamed at the smaller, ginger boy in a green hat.

"Fuck off, fat-ass." Kyle said, pink spots appearing on his freckled cheeks. Coral laughed so hard she knocked her empty glass over and her sides started to ache.

Coral used to watch Southpark all the time back when she was around fifteen, and it hadn't ceased to make her laugh since. She leant over and picked her glass up, then replaced it on the table. Stan stepped forward to break things up and they all departed from the bus stop. Coral saw the screen change to an advert and she switched the TV. off with a press of a button.

It had turned boring and Coral felt that sour taste spread along the back of her throat to the tip of her tongue. She suddenly felt a sense of hostility directed at her, but Coral knew this was nonsense since Linda and Michael had been perfectly welcoming towards her. She let her eyelids droop shut as she felt a cold fog of mysterious intention swirl down her throat and grab her heart.

Coral tried to shake this sense of dread and walked through to the kitchen where she fixed herself an OXO cube and two teaspoonfuls of marmite. Coral savoured the salty chicken and marmite flavours that stung her throat and stuck to her tongue. Coral used to think they were the most potent of ingredients in the entire world, but then she had tried jalapeños...

Coral grinned at the memory of her and her family on their trip to Mexico two years ago. Linda walked into the kitchen and passed her a tired smile, lacking in its cheerfulness. Coral sat up onto the counted next to the kettle.

"Is there anything wrong?" Coral asked, worried about the frown lines on her forehead.

"No, love," Linda gave her an affectionate squeeze on her knee as she reached over to turn the kettle on, "Just a bit tired is all."

Coral relaxed at this. She watched Linda go back and forth from one room to another, cleaning and tidying things away. The place was already immaculate. The word OCD popped into Coral's mind but she brushed it away again.

"Look," Coral said, grabbing hold of Linda's forearm gently, "I'll clean up and you get some rest, you look knackered."

Linda really grinned at her then, patting Coral's arm and making her way into the kitchen and sitting down in the armchair. She flicked the TV on and settled further into the chair, reaching for the blue chequered blanket on the floor beside her. Coral's gaze flickered to Michael who had appeared at the door, blood on his stripy apron and some under his nails. Coral couldn't prevent the cold shiver which ran up her back.

"Where's Linda?" He asked, looking at the cupboards as if she might appear from under one of them.

"She's in the sitting room, sleeping." Coral replied. Michael glanced at the doorway before saying, "I best leave 'er to it, she's been on 'er feet all day."

Coral nodded in understanding and walked back up to her room. It was around eight thirty and the tell tale signs of drowsiness were beginning to shift over her mind like a fog. Coral noticed that it had been three days since she had arrived at Linda and Michael's. It seemed like much longer, and also much shorter. Coral sat on her bed and let her arms cross over her stomach as she closed her eyes, hoping to gain a little more sleep than she had recently been able to attain.

When Coral was jerked awake by a sinister dream it was nearly quarter past nine. She listened out for Linda and Michael's usual tired mutterings but found none. The familiar feelings rose up Coral's spine and she slowed her breathings, training her ears for even the quietist shuffle or clink of a mug. There were none.

Coral slipped some socks on and silently moved towards the door. She edged it open, inch by inch, grimacing as it creaked. Coral held her breath and swung it open the rest of the way. She trudged along the landing, feeling as if she was wading through mud, much too slow.

Coral stepped downstairs, one step at a time. It felt as if hours had passed since she was in her bedroom. Coral heard a rustle of clothing and stopped at the base of the stairs. It was much too quiet and Coral was almost sure someone else was in the house. And she was sure it wasn't one of their close friends. Coral knew that she could see the entire contents of the living room from the tree in the back of their small home.

Instead of taking the huge risk of walking straight in there, Coral decided to make her way outside and along the side of the house. She crept silently all the way towards the tree. Grabbing a foot hold on the rough bark, she heaved herself up and positioned herself right above the ceiling window which was tilted towards her. It was meant to be able to look out of and be opaque from the outside, but the builders had botched it up and placed it the wrong way round. Linda had told Coral that they had scarpered as soon as the word 'fine' came up.

Linda would possibly never know how grateful Coral was at that moment for their mistake. Coral pulled a few leaves of the branch in front of her and shuffled further forward. He socks were soaked through from the wet grass but she really couldn't care less.

Coral was taken aback by the scene in front of her. Linda and Michael were sitting on their arm chairs, but instead of looking comfortable in their own cosy home they looked petrified. There was a man standing behind Linda's chair, one hand on the back of her seat and the other stroking her greying blonde hair. One more man was situated at the door and the last was standing in front of Michael. Coral edged closer to hear what they were saying.

"...you're sure you don't know where she is?" The man in the middle of the room asked Michael, amusement laced his tone, as if he knew she was there, but it was fun to watch them squirm under the microscope.

"I don't know who you're talking about!" He nearly yelled back, fear evident in his usually stubborn voice.

"This girl." The man's rough accent trailed off as he produced an A5 size photo which Coral could not see from her hiding place.

Linda's jaw dropped slightly and Michael's throat went dry.

"Aaaah, so you recognise her?" The man's lips turned up at the corners into a malicious grin.

"Eer, nope, just looked like one of my nieces for a second there..." Michael tried to mask his shock.

"Nice try," The man replaced the photograph inside his side pocket and unzipped his jacket. He pushed the right side behind his calloused which rested on his hip. Just under the material of his black jacket there was a Colt 45. It was bound to a leather strap which presumably traced his back and hung from his shoulders, down to his other hip.

Michael swallowed.

"I'm going to trust you, this once, because you know we mean business." He pronounced his W's as V's.

Linda coughed delicately, swallowing twice, "Who- who do you work for?"

The man behind her leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

Linda's eyes grew wide, "Michael!" She hissed towards him, "They work for Brendan!"

Michael's face turned a pale white and his right hand dropped from his chin.

"Just tell her she needs to cough up the money or else we'll come for her, and you," The tall brute smiled slightly as their expressions of disbelief, "You'd be surprised how conveniently people can go missing around here."

He left without another word, followed by the other men. Linda and Michael had to take a couple of moments before they met each other's eyes. Coral had seen enough. She jumped down from the tree and landed on her feet, but the shock ran up her legs and caused her to collapse to the ground. She stayed like that for while, breathing in the cool, moist air, until she saw an ant crawl up her leg. Coral got back up slowly and made her way indoors, locking the side door behind her. She crept into the living room and looked at them, bracing herself for the shouting she thought there was going to be.

But it never came.

They just looked at her, their faces unreadable. The time that passed could have been anything between thirty seconds and ten minutes that she stood there and gazed back at them. Finally Linda spoke quietly, "What the hell do those men want?"

"They think I'm someone else."

"Well evidently!" Michael spoke up.

"But I swear I'm not lying to you," Coral tried to salvage the remnants of their trust, "I really did get kidnapped!"

Michael sighed at this and stood up. He exited to the kitchen and poured himself a tumbler or Whiskey, a drink he hadn't touched in almost twenty years. Coral felt frustrated for a moment, angry at the fact they could not accept her situation.

_I mean, sure it's a bit farfetched, but come on, I didn't do this just for the laughs. _

Linda did not say another word, she simply looked away and walked out.

**A/N: Just a filler, more action next time ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I have had my other story to write as well lol :D Oh yeah, to see what colour Coral went, click on my grunge blog (there's a link on my profile), it's the picture at the top left. **

Coral had spent that night in her bed, her eyes staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling. A maelstrom of emotions was swirling around her brain, making it difficult to sleep. Anger. Fear. Guilt. More fear.

Coral needed to man up though, she couldn't just lie there being some silly little girl who had gotten into a sticky situation. True, that was what had happened but now she needed to act.

_But what to do? _

Suddenly something flew into the window with a loud thump, shocking Coral fully awake. She sat up from her bed and opened the latch, the early morning rays hitting her square in the face. She squinted and looking out, saw something that made her blood run cold.

A dead bird was floating in mid-air, as if suspended from an invisible string. She reached forward and plucked a note from its foot which she had not noticed before. The writing looked like it had been written in blood.

_Found you._

These words were followed by a series of callous laughs which echoed in her ears.

Coral screamed.

She blinked again and it had vanished. Coral was lying stomach down in her pillow, drool leaking from one side of her mouth and sleep in her eyes. She groaned and turned over, facing the ceiling. Her nightmares were getting worse. Much worse.

Coral groaned once more before laboriously getting to her feet and sliding a silk dressing gown over her shoulders. She made her way downstairs and slinked into the kitchen. Michael was standing there with a mug of cold coffee, staring out the kitchen window at the back garden.

Coral opened her mouth to speak but she was silenced by a wave of his hand, "I don't want to hear it, Coral," He turned around, "If that's even your real name."

"It is I swear, just please let me explain – five minutes top I promise." Coral's eyes went slightly misty as she blinked back the tears, if Linda and Michael kicked her out she had nowhere to go.

Michael softened at this, "Alright." He grumbled.

Coral managed a weak smile, "You should probably sit down." She motioned to the chair in front of her.

Michael sighed and sat down with her, "This better be good."

"I have two brothers, called John and Adam," She began, "And a mum, she's wonderful..." Coral wiped a tear from her cheek.

"My dad died a few years back, and my mum remarried to a monster who has been stirring up hell ever since he started living with us. They always fight, but one night it was bad and there was stuff smashing downstairs." Coral glanced up to see Michael with an uncharacteristically empathetic look on his face.

"I ran away that night, climbed through the window of my bedroom, it was my birthday..." Coral resided into sobs. Michael fetched her a glass of water and waited until she had pulled herself together.

Coral sniffed before continuing, "I climbed out my window into the forest behind my house but I fell out of one of the trees. This branch landed on my leg and I thought I was gonna be stuck there forever, but _he_ showed up."

"Who?"

"Scabior." The name rolled off her tongue like it left a bad taste in her mouth, "He helped me up and I thought for a minute maybe he would save me, I don't know, maybe take me home like a real gentleman."

"What did he do?" Michael leaned forward, unaware of his curious gaze.

"Him and his friends ambushed me, and then they kidnapped me – they took me to a place in a forest, like a camp with tents and everything." Coral debated whether she should mention magic or not then decided it would probably push Michael over the edge, so she left it out.

"They did horrible things to me there..." Coral's eyes stared unblinkingly to a place beyond Michael's eyes. Her un-focusing gaze unnerved him.

"How did you get here? And what about Brendan?" Michael leant further forward, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"They live in the forest," She explained, "So they run out of basic supplies approximately every week, so they go shopping." She smiled a little, the words sounding so odd in her ears.

"Anyway, this town was the one they took last time. I managed to escape, and I hid until they finally went back again. I hid downstairs in the shop until you found me again in the morning. I don't think they'll come back to look for me though, I'm nothing special." Coral's tone turned melancholy.

Michael sighed and reached forward to rub her shoulder soothingly, "Don't say that."

Coral smiled and looked up at him, he was really nice underneath all those grumbles and morning snaps.

"Look," He started, "I have to 'ead downstairs – it's opening time in a minute."

Coral nodded in understanding. She watched him exit the room and sat still for a few minutes, not thinking about anything in particular but just sitting.

Coral glanced up at the clock and noticed the time. She should probably get dressed now. Up in her bedroom she looked around and realised that she welcomed the warmth and security that Linda and Michael provided. Even if she was remotely attracted to Scabior, and she _wasn't_, she couldn't be. She didn't like his toned chest, or his piercing blue eyes, or his messy hair, or his calloused but soft hands...

"Stop it!" She scolded herself.

Coral rooted around for her favourite wears – a pale grey knitted jumped which hung loosely on her, some black skinny jeans and her purple Doc Martins. She straightened her hair and was mildly surprised to see it had nearly reached the bottom of her elbows. Coral had been growing her hair out for years after a pixie crop she got years ago. She brought all her dark hair forward and sighed, although she was almost certain that Scabior wouldn't come searching for her, she didn't like the idea that if he would, she was easily recognisable. Coral mused over the idea of going a crazy colour so she would look less familiar.

Before she could lose her nerve, Coral grabbed some money off the counter downstairs and ran outside, being careful to keep looking over her shoulder as she went. Coral walked up and down the high street, and then down the little alleyways which lead to smaller vintage shops and odd shops. She found a little hairdresser's on the corner of a particularly run down street. She gingerly opened the door which opened with a squeak. She stepped inside to see that it was all brightly lit and surprisingly warm. She relaxed and stepped inside, worried that she might back out.

A young, attractive woman with black, 50s styled hair and stretchies welcomed her in.

"What can I do for you today?" She smiled warmly. Coral smiled back.

"Erm, I'd like to dye my hair today, do you have any unnatural colours available?" Coral suddenly felt stupid for asking.

"Yeah, of course, were you going for a grungy pastel look?" She asked, gesturing to a chair opposite a very clean mirror.

Coral sat down and answered uncertainly, "I think so..."

"Was there a colour in particular you were looking for?" The woman started fiddling with Coral's hair, drawing it back and looking at the tips.

"Not really, just something different." She glanced up to gauge her reaction. The woman smiled reassuringly and added, "I'll go check what colours we have for you."

The woman left Coral alone in the deserted shop to go to the backroom. She returned a minute later and told her what colours were available, light blue, deep blue, light pink, hot pink and olive green.

"I'll go with light pink, and could you make it really light, please?" Coral looked at the woman's reflection in the mirror.

"Yeah, I can blend it with some white on top maybe?" She let Coral's hair drop down again.

"That'd be good."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Twenty minutes later Coral emerged from the shop, out of money, but with very pale pink hair. It was blended in with whitish blonde and made her look a hell of a lot different. Coral couldn't help the smile that worked its way onto her lips as guys and girls around her stared. She went back to the shop and squeezed back the customers to get to the door which lead upstairs. Michael didn't notice her as he was under the counter getting out some sheep liver for a customer. She dashed upstairs and returned to find the kitchen deserted. And the living room, and all the toilets, the bathrooms and her bedroom. Where was Linda?

Coral ran back downstairs and approached Michael, "Where's Linda?"

He looked at her oddly, "Why do you ask?"

"I just thought she'd be back by now, and I have to ask her something." Coral lied, she just wanted to know that Linda was safe.

"She's upstairs, makin' a brew if I'm not mistaken." He added with a chuckle, "You'll check on her though, right?" He furrowed his brows as he chopped the fat off a rack of ribs.

"Of course." Coral answered shakily. She was being paranoid, but Coral's gut sense of dread hadn't been wrong yet, or had it?

Coral edged into the kitchen and went over to touch the kettle with the back of her hand, it was stone cold. Something was definitely wrong. She didn't pause to listen for noises because, as she had learnt from experience, that just wasted time.

She re-checked all the rooms downstairs, armed with a kitchen knife, and then went to check upstairs. As Coral ascended, she could hear a faint whimper, and her heart skipped a beat. She bolted the rest of the way upstairs, her legs feeling like jelly, and into Linda and Michael's bedroom. She edged the door open inch by inch and froze when her eyes fell upon the edge of Linda's silhouette.

There was a ruffling sound like a gag being taken off, "Coral, don't come in!"

Coral wanted to trust her judgment, so she stayed where she was and opened the door the rest of the way. Linda was tied to a chair, a gag around her neck and a gun pointed at her head.

"Oh, for goodness sakes!" Coral shouted, frustrated. It was only two thousand pounds – not a billion. They really didn't need to resort to these types of scares just to get what they wanted.

The man standing to the side of Linda pressed the gun further into her head, a glint in his eyes which was probably followed by a smirk on his face which was hiding behind a black balaclava.

"Your time is up." He said coldly.

Coral frowned, "You didn't give a time frame."

"Didn't we?" He asked, but something in his tone suggested that he didn't really care.

"No." She said, pouting slightly.

"Well, as you can see, you're in no position to be making compromises, so just give me the money and no one will get hurt," He emphasised his point by lowering the gun into the crook of her neck.

Coral debated for a minute as to what she should do. Should she promise money? Should she just walk away? Should she suggest Linda take it out of their retirement fund?

"It's two thousand pounds. What's the big deal?" Coral asked cheekily, her sudden confidence being brought on by the desperation of the situation.

"It's none of your business where the money is! Now hand it over, cause I'm not leaving without it." His voice turned into a growl.

Coral got down on her knees shakily, "Please don't, I'll do anything." She watched as his demeanour changed. He relaxed a little and straightened out of his crouch. She narrowed her eyes down on the gun which dropped from Linda's neck and was replaced into his pocket.

"Anything?" He stalked forward, past her bed to Coral who was kneeling on the floor, hands behind her back obediently. The knife was clasped firmly in her hand.

"Oh, Coral – don't!" A weak voice came from Linda.

The man turned around and Coral flashed a wink at her, before showing her the knife. Linda paled considerably.

Coral faked her whimper as he undid his belt buckle. She gulped as he pulled his trousers down slowly, savouring the moment. Coral's eyes darted to the side when she heard the top stair creak. He didn't hear it though.

Suddenly Michael burst into the room, "What the hell is going on?"

The man reached for his gun but Michael's fist was too fast and smashed into his face, eliciting a high pitched yell and lots of blood. Michael might have been slow, but there was a lot of power packed into his meaty arm. Coral held back a shriek as she watched him sink to the floor, unconscious. Linda sat there shocked before bursting into tears. Michael stood there, staring down at the body.

"What have I done?" He whispered, raising his hands to cover his eyes. He peeked through his fingers, hoping that it would all be a dream. But it was all still there, Coral with the knife, the strange man on the floor in a pool of his own blood, and Linda tied to the chair, sobbing.

Coral leant forward, dropping the knife and reached for the man's neck. She fumbled around before finally finding his artery, his pulse was still there. It was pumping weakly, but that didn't matter.

"Right." Coral said, standing up and taking his gun from the inner pocket of his jacket. He handed it to Michael, "You might still need this."

"What?" He breathed, incredulous.

"Not today, but if you have any trouble in the future – look you don't have to fire it, it's just for show." She assured him. Michael blinked.

Coral went over and untied Linda from the chair. She then reached for a tissue on their dresser and handed it to her. Coral sat back down on the bed, "I'm so sorry for all of this."

Michael sighed and sat down next to her, "It's not your fault, Coral. But we need to get out of all of this, you got a plan?" He asked hopefully.

Coral swallowed, "Maybe."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Linda had managed to get the blood stain out of their cream carpet and was now tucking into a plate of jam covered crackers and a mug of hot tea. They were seated around the kitchen table, eating sugary things to get over the shock. The man had awoken mere minutes later, so Michael had sent him packing, courtesy of blackmail using one of his guns. Coral had promised them two grand before the week was up. How she was going to get it was a problem that was preying on her mind like a mad disease.

She added some more jam to her biscuit and chomped into it. Linda glanced up and focused in on her hair.

"I like your hair, did you get it done today?" She asked politely.

Coral nodded. She then excused herself and washed up her plate quickly before retiring to her bedroom. She collapsed onto the bed and laid back, wondering what was best. What would John do?

John always knew what to do, in any given situation. The night she left he had told her to stay, and whether he could have foreseen what happened or not, it was good advice.

Coral sat up suddenly, as if an electric bolt had run up her spine. John. And Adam, and Mum. What were they thinking? They must have been going out of their minds looking for her. John should have told them she'd run away on her own accord, but the fact that she hadn't returned home or given them some sign that she was alright must have been worrying. Coral scrambled around the room, looking for some paper and an envelope. She found them in the bottom drawer of her bedside table, along with some knitting needles and a couple of Ladybird books. Coral picked up a biro which lay on top and got writing.

_Dear John,_

_If you're reading this then I'm alive, and safe. Details don't matter too much right now, I'll tell you everything that's gone on when I see you again. I'm staying with a couple called Linda and Michael and they took me in when I needed a place to stay, not many people have a heart that big. I've gotten them into a little bit of trouble, okay, a lot. _

_A lot's gone on in the past few weeks and it's become dangerous for me to exit the house too often. I don't know my way home, and I'd love to get back now, knowing that it's much better at home than on the streets. I'll send a return address and hope that maybe you and Adam could come and get me? I know this is a lot to ask for, and I'm going to need some extra help as well, in the form of money, but I'm terrified of what will happen if I don't leave. I'm scared for them as well. I miss you and Mum, and Adam, please, if you get this letter, please write back or come find me?_

_Love, Coral_

Come of the writing had smudged where her tears had fallen but Coral didn't mind. She folded the paper up into three and slid it into the brown envelope. She rootled around some more and found a second class stamp with some dust on it. She brushed it off, licked the stamp and stuck it in the right hand corner. Coral got the biro out again and wrote her home address, before thinking hard, and writing the address of the house she was in.

She just hoped he would get it in time.

**A/N: Please review, and thank you to those wonderful people who do review – it's much appreciated ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Yeah, things are getting better now...**

The letter was posted that night, Coral sat on the top of the stairs, watching the door like it would swing open suddenly, showing Michael with his hand full of mail. But that sight never graced her eyes.

She gave up late the next afternoon, sighing heavily and plodding back up the stairs. Coral plonked herself down at the kitchen table with a glass of water. She wondered when he would write back, or if he would write back. She would much prefer if they just showed up and rescued her but she knew, deep down that that would never happen. Coral was shocked out of her miserable thoughts by the sound of the door opening and closing. She looked up to see a grumbling Michael followed by a tall teenage boy. He had green eyes and a shock of dark brown hair. Coral's heart skipped a beat.

"John!" She leapt up from the table and threw herself onto him. John grinned and wrapped his arms around her petite frame. Michael went back down to the shop.

"Your hair!" He exclaimed, holding her arms back to examine her. He looked the same, apart from the stress lines on his forehead seemed a bit deeper, and the bags under his eyes looked a little darker.

"Yeah, I- um, dyed it." She said, her smile still wide as she took him in. She couldn't believe it was him. Maybe it wasn't, a dark afterthought pricked her mind.

Coral stepped back, eyeing him with sudden suspicion.

"What?" He said, his perfect brows creasing in confusion.

"You remember when we were little, when we were at the hospital with Dad-" Coral said slowly.

"What is this all about?" He said again, stepping towards her. Coral moved back again and reached for the kitchen knife.

"Woah!" He said loudly, holding his hands up in submission.

"What did I say to you?" Coral said, the knife wavering in her outstretched hand.

"What is this all about? I can't remember back then, it was so long ago." He said, sweat beading up on his forehead.

"What did I tell you?" She said, desperation leaking into her voice. If it was really him, he would answer the question – if it wasn't – she would strike.

"I- errm, you said something about Dad..." He replied slowly.

"What did I say, John, I need to know you're not one of them!" She said, her voice rising.

"One of who?" He said as she jabbed the knife towards him, "- okay, okay You said maybe, maybe he was killed. Maybe he was murdered."

Coral lowered the knife slowly. Finally it dropped from her grasp and she fell to her knees, defeated. Michael ran to her side and replaced the knife onto the side of the cupboard.

"What is this all about?" He murmured, cradling her against his toned chest.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral told him it all. Everything. Every single thing, from the moment she exited the window, to when they were sitting on her bed right now. Everything apart from their names – she didn't waste time over petty details. John hadn't cried, or shouted in anger, or done anything really. He just sat there, motionless, listening intently. It was worse this way because Coral had no idea what was going on inside his head. After a couple of minutes he shifted closer and pulled her into his embrace. Coral stiffened in confusion but relaxed into her brother's protective arms for what seemed like an eternity. She had missed this form of comfort for years. They still fought like brother and sister, but they stood up for one another like brother and sister.

Coral pulled away from him, "What do we do?" Her hazel eyes bore into his as he made a decision.

"You say they can do, like, real magic?" John asked, his expression deadly serious.

"Yup." She replied.

"Well then, as much as I'd like to, we can't run away from all of this." He stood up from her bed. John saw some paper from earlier sticking out the bottom drawer of her dresser. He took it and gently folded it in half on his lap, sat down and grabbed a biro from the top.

"Let's make a list." He suggested.

"Okay." Coral murmured, leaning over him as he scribbled.

Get money for Linda and Michael.

Gather possessions.

Leave.

"It looks much easier when you write it down." She mused.

"Maybe it _will_ be easy." He replied optimistically. Coral chuckled sadly, he had no idea.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Scabior trudged along the streets of a muggle village. The others had gone off to get supplies and he was left alone with his gruesome thoughts. He kicked a few stones towards a slim blonde in her early twenties, who looked back and scurried away at the sight of him.

When he finally looked up from his scuffed boots he nearly walked into a post van. The looming red shape shook him out of his daze. He side stepped a rather large man who jumped down from the van and swung the doors back, narrowly missing the post box next to him.

"Watch it." Scabior grumbled moodily.

"No, you better watch it!" The large man replied loudly.

Scabior turned around quickly and shoved the man up against the door of his van. He pressed his face close as his arm dug into his throat.

"What did you say to me?" Scabior asked lowly, his blue eyes blazing furiously. The man's eyebrows receded into his hairline, "Nothing!"

"Good." Scabior chuckled darkly, shoving the man into his van and walking away. Letters cascaded from the back of the van and spilled out onto the damp cobblestone street. Scabior looked back and spat on the ground.

He cricked his neck to the side and sighed heavily, watching Greyback come out of a nearby butcher's, something large contained in a plastic bag was slung over his shoulder. He sighed again and jogged over to him.

"What ya got there?" He asked, gesturing to the sack which was beginning to smell a little odd.

"Dead body." Greyback replied, watching Scabior's reaction. He was sorely disappointed when Scabior simply turned and walked the other way. He was hoping for some reaction from him, because of course annoying his boss _was_ his favourite pastime. He called after Scabior, "It's human!" But Scabior didn't bat an eyelid.

Scabior's eyes flitted from shop, to girl, to post box, to sign, to girl, to girl, to girl...

None of them really looked like Coral though; they were either too big, too short, too blonde, too ugly, or too old. None of them had her soft lashes, her pale skin, and the long brown hair that just begged for you to tangle your hands in...

Scabior shook his head and, emptying his thought of that goddamn girl, strode past the point he had attacked the post man. His eyes fell on a letter that obviously didn't make it into the post box. He bent down and picked it up, eyeing the sloped writing in his dirty hands.

Greyback leant over his shoulder, "You gonna post that, then?"

Scabior scrunched up his nose, "What'chu on about? Course I'm not, and get that fuckin' thing out of my face." He eyed the bag warily. "Whatever that it, you have to eat it tonight, cause I'm not havin' it sittin' around camp stinkin' up the place."

Greyback scowled and hitched it further onto his shoulder, pushing past Scabior roughly.

"Dick'ead." Scabior muttered. He turned the letter over and ripped the back open, shoving the envelope in his jacket pocket. He unfolded the paper inside and his eyes skimmed over the words. He went back and read it again and again, eyes wide.

A malicious grin crept onto his rugged features; _she was his now_.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was two days later. Michael finished his shift and made his way up the stairs, closing the door with his elbow and washing his hands in the kitchen sink. Coral was still planning with Michael, a single sheet of paper sat between them. There was writing on both sides and doodles from when Coral had gotten bored.

"You wouldn't mind poppin' to the shop for some stuff, would ya, Coral?" Michael asked over his shoulder.

Coral was about to agree when Linda burst into the room, "No."

"Why not?" Coral and Michael asked in unison.

Linda gave them an exasperated look, "Coral, when you went out the other day to get your hair done – we had no idea where you had gone, and apart from that it's dangerous for you!"

Coral slumped in her seat, "Well, who's gonna get the shopping?"

Linda paused, looking from her to Michael. Her eyes fell upon John who was gazing innocently down at the paper.

"You wouldn't mind, would you, John?" She asked tentatively.

He glanced up at her.

"Well, it's just that no one knows who you are here..." She wrung her hands nervously. If he refused then she or Michael would have to go out and well, they were in danger too.

"Yeah, sure." His tone was clipped. Maybe he was nervous too, Coral thought.

Linda's face broke out in a smile, "Thank you."

John stood, "Do you want me to go now?"

"Yeah, that would be great.

"Do you have a specific list?" He asked, his nerves feeling tingly.

"No, not really, just be careful, that's all." John nodded and disappeared from sight. Coral heard the door close and she tried to calm her nerves – there was no way he was in danger – no one knew who he was. They were safe. For now.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Scabior's fingers curled around the corner of the bricked wall as he leant forward an inch. He watched the boy exit the shop and check both left and right. He scratched the back of his head and quickly walked towards the alleyway which would lead straight along to the supermarket. Scabior motioned for his men to step back into the shadows and they did. Scabior lit a cigarette and didn't look at John twice until he finally turned his head away. He relaxed against the doorframe as he exhaled his second favourite addictive drug. Coral was his first.

It took only ten minutes for John to get everything he needed. He guessed most of the stuff, but he was familiar with what the essential weekly shop consisted of. is fHe concentrated on his steady heart beat and the rhythmic sound of his soft shoes hitting the ground. John was feeling much more relaxed now; he was nearly back and he would see the light beaming in from the end of the alley. John let a stupid smirk plaster on his face as he looked at the ground. When he looked back up again however, it had vanished.

He stopped five feet from Scabior and his men who had blocked the end of the alleyway.

"'Ello, John." Scabior greeted, his voice low.

John stepped backwards but was hit on the head with a very solid object. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the floor coming up to meet his face.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral fidgeted in her seat, looking around at the door every minute. She nearly jumped up in glee when she saw John open and close the door slowly. He walked forward coolly and placed the shopping bags on the ground next to Coral.

"I'm so glad you didn't get hurt." She said, standing up and giving him a warm hug. John wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. Coral tried to pull back but John held on a little longer. When he finally leant back he trailed a finger down her cheek and grinned. Coral chuckled and slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

They ate dinner that night in front of the TV, a rare treat that Linda granted them seeing as John would be getting their money back soon and they were all safe and sound. John kept sneaking calculating glances over in her direction but disguised it as stretching his neck and looking at the room. Coral thought nothing of this though because apart from the strange movement now and again, he was still John.

Later on that night, Coral asked him quietly how to get the money.

"I'll think of something." He muttered quietly, turning over on the mattress on the floor.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral tried shifting her leg but it was tangled up in the sheet. She cursed and tried untangling herself but to no avail. Coral sighed once more and sat up. She switched on the light on the bedside table and pulled the sheet off of her. She kicked it to the end of the bed in frustration and curled up on her pillow. She turned her head to see if John was still asleep but he wasn't there. Coral began to panic when she looked all over the floor but couldn't see him. She put on some loose pyjama bottoms and pulled on her jumper from earlier.

Coral checked in the bathroom and downstairs in the kitchen as well. He wasn't there. Coral could feel her heart beating louder and faster now, what if he got taken in the night? Wait, wouldn't they take her instead?

Coral tried to justify some reason he wasn't there in the house. She doubled a glance back to make sure no one else was stirring upstairs. Coral slipped on her boots and crept downstairs, closing both doors behind her. She shivered in the cold and was mildly surprised and heavily relieved to see John standing there, dragging on a cigarette. She walked over and poked him on the shoulder. John nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden contact.

"Woah!" Coral said, holding her arms out, "It's just me."

John relaxed and took another heavy drag on his rollie.

"I thought you hated smoking." Coral said, furrowing her brows.

John looked uneasy for a second, "I- erm, well, you know, stress and...stuff..."

Coral shrugged her shoulders, he was right. Stress made you make very bad decisions sometimes. She stepped closer.

"Do you have another on you?" She asked hopefully. John grinned and fished a packet out of his jacket pocket. He held out a packet of Marlboro Reds. Coral saw the packet and hesitated, her hand hanging in mid air.

"What?" He asked.

"I, well. They're the cigarettes that..._he_ buys."

John frowned for a moment, "Oooh, you mean the ones Scabior buys."

Nodding, Coral took the cigarette and lighter and was about to light her fag when the information sink in. She dropped her cigarette.

"How did you know who I was talking about?" She asked, her tone deadly serious.

"What?" John pretended he hadn't heard her.

"John, you heard me the first time." She said warily, stepping back again.

"I, oh, Michael told me earlier." He said, dropping his gaze to her trousers briefly.

Coral was so sick of being suspicious; she just wanted to trust more than one damn person in this fucking world.

Coral gave him an unconvincing smile.

"Hey," He said, smiling slightly and flicking away his fag butt, "If I wasn't your brother, would I know that's not your natural hair colour?"

This made Coral chuckle, "You'd never tell, would you?" She said, twirling a piece in her fingers.

"Never." He agreed, walking over and slinging an arm over her neck, leading her back into the shop.

"Oh wait!" He said as they reached the door.

"What?" She breathed, not wanting to wake anyone up.

"Wait here a moment." He mumbled, walking back off around the corner.

Coral suddenly felt very alone, "Don't leave me here!" She hissed quietly. John was gone for at least three minutes and Coral was counting the seconds in her head. He came back with a green army type bag. He dumped it on the floor in front of her. Coral frowned at him before reaching down and unzipping it. She reached inside and pulled out a stack of notes, sellotaped together in the middle. Coral slipped one ten pound note from the middle and held it up to a street lamp. She could faintly see the Queen's head in the little oval at the bottom.

It was real.

"Where did you get this kind of cash?" She said, replacing the money in the bag which was filled with similar sized stacks.

"I have connections." He replied simply.

"But how did you just whip it up out of thin air?" She asked.

"I hid it earlier down the street down there and forgot about it." He explained.

"Ooh", Coral bought it. It was a reasonable enough explanation, just a little odd for John though, connections? He isn't connected to anyone. Maybe he was but always kept it on the down low; _that_ would make more sense.

"Right, we better get this stuff inside then." He added, picking up the bag and prodding her in the direction of the door.

Coral and John settled back down much more easily this time and slept until sunrise.

**A/N: Is there anything dodgy with John? Or not? REVIEW MA LOVELIES.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Ready for things to get interesting?**

John reached forward and slammed his hand down on the alarm clock which had been making an infernal ringing in his ears for the past fifteen seconds. Coral was still fast asleep, her mouth hanging open. John turned the alarm clock off and poked her cheek. She didn't stir.

He reached for some clothes which were hanging on the end of her bed. Redressing, he sighed heavily. He reached inside his jacket and took a long swig from the thick, orangey brown liquid. He grimaced and replaced the liquid back in his pocket. John stood there, shaking slightly for a couple seconds, blonde hair appearing and disappearing just as fast.

He placed his jacket on his broad shoulders and made his way downstairs. He paused when he heard a glass smashing in the kitchen. John ran into the room and exhaled in relief when he saw a huge black wolf patronus wandering along the cupboard. John motioned to the table in front and it leapt up and sat in front of him as he seated himself. The wolf lay down and moved closer. John propped himself up on his elbows as he waited.

Finally the wolf leant forward and whispered in his ear, "So, does she suspect anythin' yet?"

"Don't think so," John murmured against the fur of the wolf's cheek, "She was a bit taken aback about the cash, I suppose."

"I don't blame 'er." The wolf growled back softly.

"Is that all?" John asked hopefully. The wolf snarled at him to pay attention.

"Alex, if you mess this up..." The wolf opened its mouth wide and pretended to chomp down on his neck.

"I don't see why _you_ couldn't do this, Scabior," John said, suddenly angry, "It would have been much easier."

The wolf leant further forward, its tail flicking lightly at the end, "You're the only one with a little sister, so you would be the only one who'd know how to act around 'er." The wolf let out a low growl, like a chuckle. "If I did it...can you imagine?"

John sighed in agreement, "The whole plan would have been ruined."

"I can't believe Brendan's involved in all o' this." The wolf stiffened, "It makes it much more complicated."

"Yeah." John murmured. John heard a squeak of the stairs and his head spun around to see Coral at the foot of the stairs.

"Who were you talking to?" She asked timidly.

"Erm," John turned back to the table, there was nothing there, "Nobody."

Coral uncrossed her arms and walked past him, her expression unreadable.

"So, you ready for this?" John asked.

Coral poured herself a glass of water and jumped up onto the counter.

"Probably."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral strode confidently across the street, having recently made a brief but not final goodbye to Linda and Michael. John walked at her side, the same mask of determination across his face. The bag of money was clutched tightly in Coral's hand. They walked for at least ten minutes at a relatively quick pace until Coral stopped. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

"This is it." She said so quietly that John wasn't sure she had even said anything.

"Go on then." John prodded her in the back. Coral thought she might have imagined it at first. Why was he acting so cold? No good luck or anything?

"No hug?" She turned to face him. He shook his head. Coral felt funny inside, there was something wrong about everything but she couldn't put her finger on it...

Coral huffed, "Fine then, I'll see you in a minute." She said, and crossed the road, head held high and limbs tingly with nerves.

She reached the door and eyed the body guard, "I'm here to see Brendan."

The guard took off his sunglasses and stepped closer, "You have an appointment?"

"I have something for him." She said, holding the bag up to his face. He took a couple seconds before nodding and opening the door. She remembered from her last involuntary visit that Brendan's office was up the stairs and to the right. She knocked on the bland wooden door before walking right in and dumping the bag on his desk. He was mid-way between talking to someone and handing them a package. She took no notice of his guest.

"You can wait outside." Brendan murmured to his friend who exited quickly, closing the door behind them quietly.

"Well, hello there...pinkie." He addressed her at last.

"Don't call me that." She snapped.

"Aah," He sighed contentedly, "You have my money..." He reached forward and fisted through the notes in the bag, a smirk gracing his lips.

"Aah, ah, aah." She tutted, slapping his hand away. "You have to promise me not to go after Linda and Michael ever again, for reasons of money or otherwise."

"And what if I don't..." Brendan trailed off suggestively, his dark eyes twinkling.

Coral leant over the desk, "I know people who'll gladly pull your insides out through your arse. And eat them."

Brendan smiled, "I don't know what kinda company you're keeping nowadays, pinkie but-"

"Shut up!" She yelled. "Just leave them out of it and hope I don't come for you." She spat, wrenching her hands from his desk in disgust and storming out, hoping that her dramatic exit would prevent him from wanting her followed.

She returned to John, breathing heavily and clenching her fists.

"So it's done?" He asked flatly, suggesting in a tone that he didn't really care.

"Yeah, yeah...let's say goodbye and get our stuff and then we can leave."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral had her things packed in a satchel which hung on her shoulder, folded over her light hair. It was late at night and they had managed a few slices of toast before they left for the long journey home. They were just outside the Butcher's when Coral stopped. She looked back at the shop window and the lit one above, signalling that Linda and Michael were settling down for the night.

A tear streaked from her eye and John grabbed her arm, pulling her away, "C'mon – we have to get going-"

"Well we have lots of time-"

John cut her off, "Don't want to keep Scabior waiting." He smiled slightly.

Coral's stomach dropped.

"What?" She breathed, eyes wide. John grabbed her shoulder with his free hand and held her against him tightly, shifting one hand over her mouth.

"Mmmm, he was right...you do smell good." He growled in her ear, pulling her across the street.

Scabior stepped out of the dark alley, surrounded by his other snatchers, including Greyback. The smile which graced his delicious lips chilled her bones.

"Thank you, Alex," Scabior greeted them, "I owe you one."

Coral struggled around frantically, stomping on Alex's feet and kicking his shins, which was proving quite difficult indeed. Panic escaped from her throat in a high pitched shriek which then descended into broken sobs. He had caught her, and this time it was probably permanent.

Coral yanked her head forward and sunk her teeth into Alex's finger. Her eyes were still fixed on Scabior's as he wrenched his hand away, swearing.

"Where is John?" She ground out loudly, accentuating every syllable.

"Wiped 'is memory and sent 'im back 'home." He grinned, walking across the street to meet her.

"No!" She screamed, he had sent her right back to square one, before she had escaped. It was like nothing had changed now.

Coral squeezed her eyes shut and when she reopened them she was standing clutched tightly to Alex at the camp. They had moved since last time, and Coral could see that they were at the top of a hill which wound down a wide path to a lake.

"I'll take that, thank you very much." Scabior grabbed Coral's arm and pulled her towards his tent. Coral scoffed, she would not put up with Scabior treating her like a piece of meat.

Instead of throwing her onto the bed, he just shoved her into the middle of the room and watched her, his eyes raking over her body appreciatively.

"I don't like your hair." He said lowly, blue eyes glinting maliciously.

"I didn't do it for _you_." Coral spat.

"Oh you didn't?" Scabior inched closer slowly, "Who did you do it for then? Huh? Meet some lad when you were away?" He was much closer now. He knew of course that she didn't, he had been watching her for days now, but it was so fun to tease her.

Coral trembled, trying to hold his cool gaze which was penetrating any sort of defence she had tried to put up against him.

Scabior reached out and brushed some hair from her eyes. Coral shuddered slightly, she hadn't realised he was that close. Coral shut her eyes and shook her head slowly.

"Good." He crooned from above her, "Cause you're _mine_."

Coral stiffened as Scabior slinked a lean arm around her waist and drew her towards him so that she could feel his excitement against her stomach.

"Don't you dare." She nearly whispered, glaring up at him. Scabior nearly burst out laughing at her ridiculous disobedience. She needed to learn her place.

He moved his mouth to her ear and squeezed her, "Feisty one you are." He murmured against her skin, his warm breath sending shivers across her back. Coral wriggled, trying to get his hair away from her nose, earning a low groan which vibrated against her skin.

Suddenly Scabior wrapped his arms around her waist and threw her onto the bed, making a pillow fall off the far side. Coral's surprised expression was gold.

Scabior jumped on top and held her wrists against the mattress.

"This is rape, you know." She reminded him, trying everything to get him off.

"Not if you like it." Scabior taunted. Coral snorted and then composed herself.

"I saw that." Scabior whispered, planting butterfly kisses down her neck and across her exposed collar bone. Coral's eyes fluttered close as all thoughts left her mind. She was going to knee him in the privates but she rather liked the gentle Scabior much more than the rough one. The overwhelming guilt from actually enjoying his cruel ministrations built up inside her and threatened to spew out in a series of curse words and violent actions.

Coral let slip a small moan as he ground his hips into hers, pushing her into the bed further and creating that wonderful friction again.

"You're enjoying this." He growled possessively, tugging her trousers down.

"How do you know?" She gasped. With that Scabior shoved his hand underneath her pale cotton knickers and found her wet folds, slipping a finger inside.

The sound which came from her lips made Scabior wonder if he'd ever had a better fuck. He pulled his jeans down in record time, pulled her panties to one side and slid into her, making a blush spring forth across her pale cheeks. Scabior's pounding sped up as he snarled obscenities into her pink hair.

Coral's squeals and exited moans got louder and higher pitched the deeper he buried himself in her.

"Please...eruuh...Scabior please..." Coral moaned over his shoulder.

"Say," He grunted with a thrust, "my name...again." Scabior stilled, making Coral moan in frustration.

"Scabior!" She screamed as he gave one final sudden thrust, gripping her hips and sending them both over the colourful edge into euphoria.

Scabior collapsed on top of Coral before finally rolling off and removing his jacket. He flung it onto the floor and got under the sheets, his eyes completely closed. Coral shifted slightly, making the bed creak.

"Don't even try it." He murmured groggily.

"I'm getting my trousers," she muttered back moodily.

_Did I even enjoy that? _Coral mentally pinched her arm.

As soon as her trousers were once again around her hips, she settled back under the covers, too tired to even try to think about what she would do now. She didn't really care.

**A/N: Thank you for reviewing! It was such a nice surprise I kinda squealed out loud lol – please review this one! ;)**_**JoTThey were w-bjefvn;qernva;oerv**_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while, review though please!**

The lightest of touches awoke Coral. A calloused but tapered fingertip skimmed over her eyelids, across her cheek and down to her lips, and then back up again. It continued its slow and calming path over and over.

Coral was in a half-dream half-awake state and for an absurd moment of time thought that this was her father's fingers. She smiled and reached out to put a hand on the side of his head to make sure it was really him.

With her eyes still closed, her fingers skimmed over a warm cheek and nestled in some very messy hair. She patted the sides and then ran her hands across the face. Coral froze. Her father's eyes were round and kind-looking, with his nose slightly shorter. This face had narrow eyes, strong eyebrows, a sharp defined nose and day old stubble. Her eyes flew open to show a very smug looking Scabior.

"Don't stop, love." He grinned.

Coral wrenched her hands away, huffing and turned over onto her stomach.

"Leave me alone." She mumbled into her pillow.

Scabior stiffened above her, moving forward and straddling her waist. He roughly grabbed her arms and pinned them beside her head. Coral bucked her hips in a futile attempt to dislodge him.

Scabior leant down and snarled in her ear, "Wanna say that again, gorgeous?"

Coral's heartbeat quickened.

"Hhm?" He groaned into her hair.

Coral shifted her head from side to side, breathing through her mouth to avoid his nicotine smoky vapour fanning out across her face.

"Good." He crooned, releasing a hand to stroke back some hair from her face.

What seemed like hours later he got off of her and walked out of the tent, freeing up the air of tension.

Coral turned back over and took in a huge gulp of air. She went straight into the shower after peeling off her clothes. The cold water froze her to the bones but reminded her of her ultimate goal; escape. Coral dried her hair, replaced her favourite items of clothing, including her massive Doc Martins, and gathered her essentials together. She applied some makeup to take away the nakedness of her appearance, and crept outside. Everyone was sat around the fire which was blazing heartily despite the temperature. They all looked engrossed in their bacon and eggs, apart from Greyback who was staring moodily at the ground, occasionally growling to himself. Coral stayed close to the side of the tent and inched her way around the edge, towards the lake which was at the bottom of the hill.

She crouched down and flicked a rock at the edge of trees by the side of the slope. It hit a space two metres back and fizzled into dust. She sighed.

_Maybe he hasn't put the wards up over the lake. _

Seeing as she hadn't been spotted by any of the yet, Coral decided to stand up and walk down the slope. She reached the edge and put a foot in the air where she mistakenly thought was ground. Coral tumbled through the open space and rolled down the steep slope on her side.

"Argh!" She screamed, trying to reach out for something to hold onto as she fell further and further down.

Scabior shoved an extra lot of bacon in his mouth, stood up, and strode over to the top of the hill, watching her tumble down to the bottom. He chewed, amused at her pathetic escape plan. _Stupid girl was so fucking clumsy._

Coral came to a stop at the very bottom of the hill, not far from the lake.

_God fucking dammit, _she thought.

She picked herself up slowly, mentally assessing the damage she had done to her body during the fall. All that hurt was probably light bruising and she could live with that.

Coral cricked her neck to the side as her eyes wandered back up to where Scabior was standing. He took his time stalking down, a predatory gaze in his eyes.

She stumbled back before sprinting towards the lake, it was her only possible hope of getting away from him.

She didn't dare look back as she sped over fallen logs and small rocks. But only metres from the lake Scabior flew into the back of her, tackling her to the ground. In that moment she realised how much it must hurt to play rugby.

The air was shoved out of her lungs as she was pushed into the dirt, crushed under Scabior's lean form.

"Erugh. Scabior get off me." She grumbled into the mud.

"No, I want you to tell me what the _fuck_ you're playing at." With the word fuck, Scabior lifted his hips up and landed back on her, making her spine click in three places.

"Aah." She groaned in pain.

"You know you're supposed to stay 'ere with me, yet you continuously try an' escape all the _fucking_ time!" He yelled, pushing her hips ever further into the hard ground, making her grit her teeth, a tear trickling from her closed eye. Coral was repulsed by the idea of begging to Scabior but it was what the current situation required.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He yelled again, pulling back her hair, making her wail.

"I'm sorry, Scabior, please don't hurt me, please..." She gave a broken sob.

She felt Scabior relax above her.

"Please, I'll do anything." She moaned softly, shifting her hips and listening to him groan as the friction moved his hips.

Fast as lightening Scabior had jumped off and was holding her to him, one hand entangled in her pink hair and the other placed on her arse possessively.

Her breathing quickened as his scorching gaze searched her face.

"You know, I don't believe you really mean that." He whispered, bringing her face closer still. Coral's heart thumped against her ribcage with renewed vigour...she wasn't being convincing enough.

Coral scrunched her eyes up tight and pressed her lips to Scabior's with force. He was obviously taken aback because his lips went slack, but soon regained his wits and pulled her closer, his jacket now half around her as well.

Coral had never been so confused in her entire life. She wanted to kill the man, having kidnapped her, raped her, taunted her, sent her brother away and crushed any hopes of escape. But as his lips moved with hers, a tongue gently gliding along her lower lip, she was lost in him. She was completely his as he moved his mouth from hers, down along her neck to her collarbone and back again. He occasionally nipped at the soft spot under her ear, his hands winding under her top.

Coral pulled away, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, "You interrupted my escape plan." She smiled slightly. Coral felt a certain pull to Scabior she had never felt to anyone in her entire life, but she knew where her home was.

Scabior grinned back, his eyes glowing with an intensity that frightened her.

"I love you." She whispered, as a drop of sweat ran down her back. Maybe she did, but she was not going to admit it for the hell of it. She needed Scabior's trust, and soon.

Scabior's eyes widening, "Well, don't expect me to say it back, I ain't into that soppy shit." He tilted his chin up and released her.

Coral faked a giggle.

"Shall we 'ead back to camp then?" He asked, eyes still intent upon her face.

"One last kiss." She murmured, pulling him close.

She darted forward, holding his arms by his sides and planting a sweet farewell kiss on his lips before jutting her knee up and making him double over.

"You little bitch." He ground out, holding his privates. Coral chanced a blow to his chest which sent him over backwards, quickly reaching for his wand.

As her hands fell upon the smooth wood, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. But Coral had already got the weapon pointed at his throat. He let go slowly.

"Don't do anythin' stupid now." He warned, a wariness about him. He watched as her hand shook.

"You don't even know 'ow to use a fuckin' wand!" He snapped suddenly, sense rushing back to him.

"I watched you torture countless people for a while now, how do you know I didn't pick up a thing or two?" She countered, her gaze steely.

"You don't pick up anything, you're too idiotic, just like the rest of my men." He snarled. A cruel smile working its way onto his face.

"You tell the rest of your idiotic men I escaped when you wake up." Coral said shakily, wiping a hot tear from her cheek.

"What are-"

"Stupefy!" She said loudly.

Scabior's eyes rolled back in his skull, like they did when he was orgasming. He sunk to the floor slowly and stayed like that. Coral finished her journey to the lake in a slow, steady walk. She took her time, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder. If she was caught she was as good as dead. When Coral reached the lake she decided she could dry herself with the wand later, she didn't know a water resistance spell yet. She placed her wand down her top, the middle resting in the middle of her bra underneath the strap.

Coral started walking forward, her cheeks hot and tingly but her hands and feet numb. She felt sick to her stomach and more scared than she'd ever been, but this was what needed to happen. She needed to go home.

She entered the lake, and once about two metres in, ducked underneath the freezing water. Her lungs shrunk to the size of apples, but she continued to swim until she couldn't hold on any longer. She came up for air, gasping and shivering, and holding a rock from the bottom of the lake. She threw it back towards the shore and watched it fizzle into dust about a metre away.

Coral breathed a sigh of relief, _but now what?_

**A/N: Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey – please review! And thank you to all those lovelies who have already reviewed ;)**

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

Scabior opened one eye slowly, and then the other.

_What the fuck?_

He sat up and quickly felt two deep aches resonating from his chest and groin area. He stood and looked around in confusion.

"What the fuck-" he said aloud, and then stopped himself. _Coral. Of course._

He roared out in fury.

He looked around and noticed the thud must have been the sound of the blood rushing to his brain in jolting thuds, making it ache.

He stormed up the hill and addressed the camp, "GO AND FUCKING GET HER!"

"Get who?" Filkins asked, glancing up.

"CORAL!" Scabior barked, his eyes alight with a mad glint.

"She's gone?" Alex said, shoving a cigarette between his lips.

"Yes!"

Greyback grumbled, "Scabior, she ain't a snatch so we're not gonna bother – she's _your_ girl so _you_ go and get her."

Scabior closed his eyes and tried to breathe slowly, but it wasn't calming him down.

"If you're not going to help me then you're all fired." He said coldly.

"Go fuck yourself, Scabs." Greyback snarled, standing up and towering over him.

"He wouldn't have to if that girl 'adn't run away." Roland chuckled.

Jared walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Come on, man, she could be miles away by now. You can find her in your own time, but right now we need to feed ourselves."

"We've got enough food to feed the whole fuckin' forest." Scabior fixed him with an intense glare, shoving his hand away.

"I meant we need money." He replied with the same hostility.

"Well wha'ever, you guys go ahead. I'm going after 'er."

Greyback stalked forward and loomed over Scabior like a bad smell, "I think you love 'er."

Scabior gave him a sour expression, "What the fuck are you on, Greyback?"

"Well you were so angry when she left and now you're leaving everything just to go an' fetch her again. Never mind the trouble we went to with her brother to get her back. You love her." He growled contently, as if he had just discovered a secret.

Scabior froze before swinging back and punching Greyback in the face. The werewolf staggered back, clutching his rapidly swelling jaw. Letting go of his face, he threw his fist forward as a snarl tore through his bared teeth. The others stopped their complaining to watch the unfolding match.

Scabior dodged the punch and threw in a couple to his diaphragm, making him breathe a little heavier. But Greyback swung his leg around and knocked Scabior straight onto the ground. Scabior gasped as the wind was knocked out from him.

He groaned as Greyback rolling him onto his back. He then got down on one knee and growled in his face, "You. Love. Her." And with that he threw him back down as the other men looked away, not wanting to revel in Scabior's embarrassment.

Scabior rose to his feet and muttered angrily, "She has my wand."

The others froze and turned to him.

"It doesn't matter how she has it she just does." He eyed the ground moodily.

When no one said anything he walked over to Roland and snatched his wand before storming over to the tent.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral had been swimming for four minutes and her limbs were beginning to become numb. She knew that wizards could travel from place to place but she didn't know the spell that it involved. Coral screamed out, the fury and despair leaving her body in one raucous burst of noise. Coral closed her eyes, tilting her head upwards so water didn't go up her nose, and pressing one hand to her chest. She thought of all her might of the secret den behind her house and the proceeding sensation made her bend over and throw up.

_Wait, you can't bend over in water..._

Between retching and heaving, took a look at her surroundings.

Coral was hunched over under a pile of rotting leaves. Coral fell to the ground, just a couple of inches from her lack of breakfast. _It worked? IT WORKED!_

Coral got to her feet, noticing that she was dripping wet, Scabior's wand still pressed against her chest. Coral stumbled out of her den, pushing aside the decaying door and running through the back garden to her house. Coral couldn't help the terrified grin that spread across her face. A delirious sense of happiness welled up inside her chest but was sobered by the terrifying thought of Scabior finding her.

_How could he?_

She knocked on the backdoor as loud as possible, as she stood shivering on the porch, wiping her mouth. She watched as her mother Joanne rushed to the door and flung it open.

"Mum!" Coral screamed, leaping at her mother and enveloping her in wet arms.

Joanne's choked on her words in surprise.

"Coral?" She said eventually, as the girl released her mother.

"It's me! I came home, mum." Coral hugged her mother once more, "God, I missed you so fucking much and there were these guys and they...and there were some other guys and they thought I was this girl and there was this couple and they were being blackmailed by the other guy and this one guy and he...he..."

"Shh." Joanne cooed, stroking her daughter's hair as a tear dripped down her face. Coral resided into sobs which racked her body of energy. After a while Joanne stepped back and Coral fell down, exhausted both mentally and physically.

Joanne picked her up and helped her inside and to her shower. Joanne peeled Coral's jacket off and sat her down on the bottom, putting the warm water on and washing her down.

"Mum, I'm scared." Coral whispered over the stream of water.

Joanne's forehead wrinkled as she frowned.

"I called the police but they couldn't find you." She said slowly.

Coral avoided her eyes, preferring to stare at the puzzle of murky water on the floor.

"John went searching for you." She added.

"Really?" Coral murmured.

"He came back, stating he had no memory of anything which occurred outside of our house. He still can't remember now. I think he's lying to help cover up something, is there anything you would like to share with me, Coral?" Joanne reached out and tilted Coral's face up so she had to look at her.

"Erm, no, not really."

"Nothing?!" Joanne exclaimed, "The minute I saw you, you were bursting to tell me what had happened, what's changed?"

"Look, I'll tell you what happened later, but I'm really tired now." Coral whined, curling up into a ball.

Joanne resided into a long sigh, "Sure, you've had a long month and a half."

_What?!_

"I've only been gone a month?" Coral said loudly.

"Well it was coming up to about two, yeah."

Coral fell silent. It had felt like a year in Scabior's company. She had been through so much.

"I want to take a shower without my clothes." Coral said finally.

"Okay," Joanne replied, just leave them on the drying rack and I'll wash them later, your towel is just there." She pointed to the radiator behind her.

"I love you so much, hun." Joanne said, leaning forward and planting a kiss on top of her head. She left the bathroom and Coral took her sodden clothes off, hanging them on the rack. She took a long shower, closing her eyes and trying to stop her mind straying to the tall man with the blue eyes who had infiltrated ever pore of her skin, every nerve, and every corner of her mind.

Coral tied up her hair in a loose bun, not dissimilar to the one she had when she left. She got changed into black leggings and underwear, a loose knit light blue jumper, and fluffy socks. She eyed the open window and went over to close it, but as she leaned over her desk, a hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist. Coral screamed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Scabior sat on his bed for a good half an hour sulking. He needed a plan to get her back, but for starters he didn't even know where she lived so there was his first problem. But Scabior was doubting whether her really wanted her back or not; she obviously detested him but he could feel a spark of love, not just lust, when they fucked. It was more than just sex: there was an underlying passion that had never been there when he had his way with other girls he found in the forest. Coral _was_ a muggle, but she was much smarter than she looked, and there was something that had him drawn in. He was going to get her back, and one day she would enjoy being with him. Well, that was a bit farfetched but he was going to get his own back on her for leaving if it was the last thing he did.

He racked his brains and made a plan. He even wrote it down on a piece of parchment so he didn't forget. Step one: find Coral's house, step two: lure her out into the forest, step three: snatch her.

But how the fuck was he going to lure her out into a forest if she had just spent the last month feeling like it was a prison?

The answer came to Scabior so suddenly he was shocked he didn't think of it before. He needed something to force her out into the wild. Bait.

**A/N: I know it's been a while but I've got a lot of other things to worry about, besides Fanfiction, but please review any way to tell me if I've lost my spark or whatever ;)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Whoever keeps saying 'please update soon' on my ONESHOTS, can go away and sort their priorities out. Srsly. The rest of you I love you all, thank you for following and reviewing my stories. **

"What?" Joanne yelled, running into the room, "What is it?"

Coral stopped screaming, looking at her mother before glancing back down at the hand around her wrist. The one with the gold ram's head ring. The one which wasn't there. _What?_

"Coral what's wrong?" Joanne came over and pulled her away from the window. She shoved Coral down on the bed and closed the window. "Coral, there's nothing there."

"But there was his hand, I saw it...it was right there." Coral said, her eyes unfocused.

"Coral, I'm really worried about you. You've probably been through a lot and I respect the fact that you might want to keep some of it private, but would you _please _tell me what's got you so on edge?" Joanne shook her motionless daughter.

"You want to know the truth?" Coral looked up through wet eyes, anger building inside her.

"Yes!" Joanne said, pushing some hair away from Coral's face.

"I was fucking kidnapped, mum!" Coral shouted, watching as her mother's beautiful face crumpled under the information.

"I...I don't know what to say." She muttered.

"While you were here in your comfy little life, I was out there in the forest facing death which was around nearly every corner I went! I have scars mum!"

"You're the one who ran away!" Joanna shrieked back.

They both heard someone ascending the stairs.

"Hey what's going- Coral!" John rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug, landing on the bed between her and her mother.

"Yeah, I'm back." She answered, her voice muffled through the chest of his jumper.

"I'll let you two talk things over, maybe _you_,John, can get some answers out of her." Joanne said, standing and walking out of the room. When John finally released her his smile was wide.

"I didn't think you were ever coming back." He said, awestruck by her presence.

"Well I'm here now, and I need to tell you something." She said, wondering if she might be treading on thin ice here. "You came looking for me, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I can't remember any of it." He said, frowning.

"That's cause you were placed under a spell."

"What?"

Coral then proceeded to explain all she knew about magic and everything she had found out about the wizarding world. John reacted exactly like the first time she told him; strangely calmly.

"Where's the wand?" He asked.

"Here." She replied, walking over to her chest of drawers and taking out Scabior's wand. She sat down on the bed again and let him look at it. He reached out to touch it but she batted his hand away.

"I don't know exactly how it works, but as long as I've got it, I'm in danger." Coral stroked the wand absentmindedly.

"Why would you be in danger?" John placed a warm hand on her shoulder, making her flinch.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"No, it's alright, I just...I'm not used to anyone touching me and it not feeling like_ his_ hands..." She trailed off, and John could see the pain hidden in her eyes.

"You gonna answer my question?" He said, smiling.

Coral's mouth turned up slightly, "Yeah." She giggled a little. "Well, as long as I have his wand, he doesn't. I mean, what's a wizard without his wand?"

John gave her a mock gasp, "A wizard without his wand is like a Coral without a toasted cheese and barbeque sauce sandwich!"

Coral dropped her jaw slightly, "Dude, you read my mind." She tried to say in a serious tone but failed, the corners of her mouth turning upwards.

John laughed hard and made his way downstairs, followed by Coral who left the wand on her bed. She quickly ran back and chucked a pillow on it before racing downstairs again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Warren, get Greyback in 'ere." Scabior called over to Warren who was rolling a cigarette on his bed, looking as moody and dangerous as ever.

"GREYACK, GET IN HERE!" He yelled.

"I could 'ave done that meself!" Scabior snapped.

"Well why didn't ya?" He scowled, going back to his fag.

"What is it now?" Greyback grumbled. He looked distinctly irritated at being interrupted. Scabior wondered what he had been up to.

"I _am_ goin' after Coral, not cause I love 'er, which I don't, but because she 'as my wand." He said sternly, his piercing glare daring Greyback to back chat him.

"Well what do I have to do with anything?" He said.

"I need to track 'er scent and then I can follow 'er from there."

"And?" Greyback questioned.

"You're a fuckin' werewolf. Got somewhere else you need to be?" Scabior stood up, walked over to him.

"Well, I brought home a snack and I haven't quite finished with her yet." He smirked, watching as Scabior tried to make that face like he was trying not to gag.

"Warren, you can have the girl if you like." Scabior offered.

"No fuckin' way!" He laughed in his deep mancunian accent, "Have you seen her? Scabior, she's missing _limbs_."

"You're fucking disgusting, you know that?" Scabior said to Greyback, pushing past him and gathering some stuff together.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Coral was halfway through her second half of her toastie when a thought hit her: Phoebe! Coral was so astounded for not thinking about her the entire time she was away that she dropped her sandwich and became speechless.

"What's wrong?" John mumbled through a mouth of food.

"Phoebe!" She almost screamed, memories of her blonde best friend rushing back to her.

"Fuck! I totally forgot about her!" He exclaimed, and then started laughing.

"What's so funny?" She asked, her tone hardening.

"We've been getting a lot of phone calls but mum said she answered all of them." He chuckled again, "I had no idea."

"Jesus Christ, how could we have forgotten?" She said quietly.

"I don't know, but you should really talk to her, get her up to date on everything." He suggested, taking another bite of his toastie and having sauce dribble out of his mouth.

"You are so gross." She told him before going off to find her mother.

"Mum?" Coral called throughout the house, finally finding her mother asleep face down on her bed. She checked she was still breathing and then sighing in relief, went over to the phone and checked the messages.

"Hey, it's Phoebe here, just checking if Coral's available? I really wanted to go shopping but she hasn't been replying to any of my messages. Just, erm, tell me when you're free, kay? Bye!"

Coral went ahead five messages.

"Hi, Phoebe here. Coral, if you're listening to this can you answer my phone calls? I really want to talk to you about something. If you don't want to hang out, that's fine but eerm, jut tell me, yeah? Bye."

Coral's heart ached with every message that went by. She skipped to the last one. It began with Phoebe sobbing.

"Coral, please...I just want to know if you're alright. You haven't been coming to college and there's a rumour going round that you're missing. Please just get in touch - I can't go round your house because I'm not allowed. My mum thinks you're a bad influence on me-"

Coral heard her mother pick up the phone in the message. She sounded drunk and her voice was hollow, "Your mother thinks Coral's a bad influence on you, huh? My daughter is missing, thank you very much, so you can tell your mother to go-" Coral turned the machine off.

She sat down on the end of her mum's bed, listening to the machine, "End of messages, to delete all messages - press delete."

Coral stood up and deleted them. "All messages deleted," the recorded voice stated.

She retired to her room, slouched out on the bed and played around with the wand, pointing it at random things and wondering how the fuck she had managed to get here. But her thoughts eventually strayed to Phoebe.

Phoebe was a sweet, very light blonde girl in her year. She was a great deal smaller than Coral, about five foot two and was slightly chubby. She had bright blue eyes, pale skin and was as innocent as a white rose. That's why Coral liked her. She never swore, kept to her bedtime and was generally a really nice person. She had high hopes of being a vet one day and had two corgi puppies at home. They shared the same art class and had lunch together nearly every day. Phoebe never came round but they hung out most of the time. Phoebe was afraid of the dark and was extremely self conscious. She had never been out with anyone, and didn't usually talk to anyone she didn't know. Coral and her were only friends because they had to share a table once and Coral was pushy in getting to know her. Phoebe didn't have a whole lot of other friends and saw Coral as a float in the middle of a very desolate ocean. Coral didn't mind though. She treasured Phoebe as a friend and loved her dearly.

Coral ran downstairs and into the kitchen, picked up the phone and rang her number. She played with the corners of a plaster she had put on her little finger the night before. Coral had apparated to found out the nail had been ripped off her pinky. She hadn't noticed until she got in the shower . It just reminded her how dangerous magic could be and how deep things were getting.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Scabior told the others that he would be gone for more than a day but less than a week. They didn't bother asking what he was doing. It was getting late and Coral's scent would have faded substantially by now, but Greyback's senses were more attuned to hunting than a dog's nose, so he would be able to track her down. He handed the werewolf one of Coral's t-shirts that she had failed to bring with her. Greyback brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply, letting a small smirk grace his handsome face. The hungry look in his eyes forced Scabior to hit him on the arm.

"Stop it." He said, snapping Greyback back into reality, "She's mine."

Greyback scowled and ignored him, tilting his head up, closing his eyes and stepping towards the edge of the camp, his senses fully locked onto her scent. Greyback led Scabior down to the edge of the lake where the scent trailed off into the water.

"What is it?" Scabior asked, following Greyback's eyes into the lake.

"She swam for it."

"I don't fucking believe this." Scabior cursed, his eyes burning with anger. "ARGH!" He roared, picking up a stone and throwing it far into the middle of the lake.

The stone flew into the distance before turning into a spark of light and disappearing from view.

"What the fuck?" Scabior muttered, edging closer to the water. He picked up another one, telling Greyback to hold his wand light up, and threw it over to the same spot as before. The stone went through an unseen void and disappeared.

"My god." A menacing grin spread across Scabior's lips. "Do you know what this is?" He asked Greyback.

"I have a feelin' you already know the answer, so just tell me." Greyback said moodily.

"Cause she's a muggle, and lord knows how she disapparated...anyway, she didn't apparate properly and she's gone an' left a void be'ind." Scabior said, looking at Greyback expectantly.

"And?" Greyback's face was blank.

"We can go through it can't we?" Scabior said like he was talking to a three-year-old, "But it probably won't last long so let's get a move on."

They walked down into the water and swam towards the void, occasionally throwing small stones to see where it was. When they had thrown all the stones they could swim with, Scabior followed the direction that the water was currently interested in flowing. Soon enough they had ended up on the other side. Scabior and Greyback fell out the other end of the void and landed in a massive puddle underneath, causing quite a ruckus.

Scabior looked up at the house they were in the back garden of, and watched as someone walked to the window and switched on a light, looking outside. He scrambled back behind a bush, pulling Greyback with him. They waited with baited breath as the person turned the light off eventually and walked out of the room. Scabior told Greyback to close up the void because it was spewing water everywhere and flooding the bottom of their garden where it met the woods. Once the void was closed Greyback used his wand to dry them both. Scabior crept forward to see who's house it was and was very pleasantly surprised to see John, Coral's brother, walk along the room at the bottom which he presumed to be a kitchen.

"It's her house." Scabior muttered in an exited tone.

"Good for you." Greyback grumbled.

"What the fuck is making you so moody, huh?" Scabior turned to the werewolf, looking him up and down.

"I'm hungry. Really fuckin' hungry." He said, gnashing his teeth together and thinking of young children.

"Shh!" Scabior said, putting a hand over his mouth as two people entered the back garden. One was tall with light pink hair and a slim frame, whilst the other was shorter with a thicker build, still with very light hair. The light from above revealed their faces. Scabior grinned, it was Coral.

**A/N: Duh duh duuuuuuuh. *Gasp* Whatever will happen next? Please review! And thank you to the lovely Baileys96 for correcting my mistakes ;) **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: AND SHIT GOES DOWN...**

Greyback pulled Scabior's hand away and chuckled quietly when he saw his endlessly smug expression. "Just listen." Scabior told him. Greyback nodded and turned to watch the pair who were sitting on the porch outside.

"You sure you don't want me to just accio it?" Greyback asked quietly.

"No, whatever 'appens tonight, don't cast a spell on 'er." Scabior said firmly. Apart from the chance of seriously injuring his precious prize, he also wanted the satisfaction of winning all by himself.

Coral lit up a fag and Phoebe subtly waved the smoke away from her face.

"Sorry." Coral said, holding her cigarette on her left side.

"It's me who should be sorry," Phoebe said sadly, "I had no idea what was going on and _still_ I didn't have the guts to come round and check if you were okay."

"Oh don't worry, Phoebs." Coral said reassuringly, wrapping an arm around her smaller friend and looking at her back garden fondly.

The light from the outside roof threw their shadows into long, creeping shapes which stretched to the end of the garden. Coral had almost finished her fag when she said, "Aah, god I really need a wee."

"Really?" Phoebe sighed, smiling despite herself.

"Yeah, just hold my fag, I won't be a minute." She promised, handing Phoebe her cigarette and rushing indoors. Phoebe held the cigarette in an outstretched hand and muttered to herself, "Couldn't she wait?"

Scabior knew what he needed to do, but first he needed a plan. He looked back into the forest and saw a rabbit scuttling about so he told Greyback to levitate it there and bite its foot off. Greyback did so happily and licked the blood from the edge of his mouth. He cast an Imperio charm and watched as it crawled over to the oh so innocent girl. As soon as her clear eyes saw the poor limping creature she set the still lit cigarette in the ash tray and ran to the animal. The rabbit continued to move even though Phoebe knelt before it.

She picked it up and looked at horror at the little creature, it wasn't breathing and its eyes had glassed over but still its limbs moved. She threw it away in disgust, eyes wide and trying not to throw up. Phoebe was a metre away from the bush so Scabior decided to make his presence known. He stood up and walked around to her, followed closely by Greyback who was eyeing her hungrily. Before Phoebe could scream Scabior had lunged forward and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back into the dark.

Coral danced along the carpet, lighter in hand, her head swaying.

"Molly's chambers gonna change your mind..." She mumbled, humming the tune. "She's got your...your pistol." She finished and opened the back door.

"Phoebes, you still got my fag?" Coral walked out, looking for her friend.

"Phoebe?" Coral said, fear seeping into her voice. She caught sight of the still smoking cigarette on the ground and cursed, sinking to her knees. _That fucking man!_

Coral went to the edge of the garden and shouted out, "Scabior give her back!" She mentally scolded herself for thinking that Scabior wouldn't come back for his wand. Of course he would, and now he's taken her recently reunited best friend for a bargain. _Selfish dick._

"You bastard!" She yelled, walking further into the forest. Coral could faintly make out a laugh from deeper inside the woods. She stepped forward but stopped when realised she was nowhere near armed for going up against them. Coral rushed back inside the house, retrieving Scabior's wand, putting on a leather jacket and heading outside again. She sneaked past John who was watching TV, which was easy considering how loud it was blaring, and ran into the thick woodland.

Her feet pounded over the ground, and a sense of nostalgia washed over her. She was used to running now and pushed herself harder, sprinting past trees. Coral looked back over her shoulder for one last fleeting glance at her house but she could no longer see it. Whilst her attention was elsewhere Coral tripped over a fallen branch. She moaned in pain as her ankle gave an agonising jolt, making her topple over. She looked over at the branch and eyed it suspiciously; it was the _same_ one which had fallen on her when she had first run away months ago. It was much deader and flatter now, but it still irritated her.

"That _fucking_ tree." Coral muttered, kicking it with her good leg.

"Well this brings back memories, don't it?" Scabior's voice sounded above her.

Coral attempted to stand up but there was no need as Scabior yanked her up and threw her into a nearby pine. She gasped as the wind rushed from her lungs.

"Where is she?" Coral ground out, breathing in gasps.

"Where's my wand?" He countered, grinning.

"Fuck you." Coral spat and was quickly kneed in the stomach. She collapsed to the ground at his feet and tried in vain to crawl away. Scabior pressed a heel into her back and ground down so she wouldn't go anywhere.

"Like to repeat yourself, dahlin'?" He said in a low tone, slowly increasing the pressure on her spine.

"Aack, Scabior get off me!" She said, her voice a mixture of angry and fearful.

"That's funny, cause I thought you told me to go fuck myself." He pronounced the words as clearly as he cold in his cockney accent, making it impossible for Coral to mistake his words. Coral groaned as his foot made her back click twice.

"Please. I'm begging you." She gasped, her eyes crunched up tight against the pain.

"Where's my wand?" Scabior said, releasing his hold on her. Coral used her elbows to crawl forward but Scabior flipped her over with the tip of his boot and climbed on top. He pinned her down with his knees and smiled mischievously. Coral tried not to shake in fear as her eyes wandered up his wide torso to those gleaming eyes.

"Give me Phoebe first." She gritted her jaw.

Scabior licked his bottom lip before saying, "I don't know, Greyback's havin' an awful lot of fun with 'er."

"Well then you won't get your precious glow-stick back." She said hotly.

Scabior sighed before reaching out and feeling her neck.

"What are you doing?" She choked as his hands patted down her arms and front. He grabbed hold of one breast and then the other. Coral's mouth was now wide open in shock, although she knew she really shouldn't be surprised at his actions.

"Now these are where they should be..." Scabior murmured, sliding a hand over her chest, "But what's that?" He asked himself, feeling a long hard rod in between her breasts.

Scabior pulled her top down slightly, and using another hand he pulled his wand out slowly from under her bra.

"Well, well, well. What _do_ we 'ave 'ere?" He held it up to the quickly fading light and grinned.

"Shit." Coral muttered.

"All lovely an' warm." He said lowly, his eyes filling with evil intention.

Coral fidgeted underneath him. If only she could get to her feet, then she could make a run for it and try and find Phoebe. As if he could read her mind Scabior stood up and flicked his wand, making her stand to attention. Coral shivered as he circled her, wand hanging by his side. He let the spell keeping her stock still wear off slowly, sensing that she was too scared to move anyway.

"You've been such a bad girl..." He whispered in her ear from behind. Coral tensed and whipped her hand back, mercifully grabbing hold of his wand and jumping forward. She spun around and faced him, wand pointed at his throat. She eyed the pink scarf she had always detested. It reminded her of all those poor girls he had scarred for life, including her.

"Take that piece off shit off." She commanded, gesturing at his neck. Scabior scoffed. Coral jerked the wand slightly in his direction. Scabior complied, throwing it to the ground.

"I kinda liked that scarf." He said in a cold tone that suggested she should pay for making him take it off. "Kept my neck warm."

"I know what a scarf does, Scabior. Now where's Phoebe?" Coral's hand was now shaking and he could see it.

Scabior, without uttering a single word, turned and walked further into the forest. Coral waited until he was five paces away and then followed. He lead her further and further into the darkness and Coral's jacket was starting to prove how cold it was. Minutes passed before she saw something, highlighted by the glow of the moon. Out of the engulfing shadows she could make out a very large figure, or was is two?

Coral rushed forward, making sure Scabior's wand was still trained on him...vaguely.

"Come any closer and I'll snap her neck." A growl came from the enormous monster who was holding a small blonde girl in his arms.

Coral's stomach dropped so quickly she thought for a moment she might have wet herself. She looked at Phoebe's terrified expression and the tear stained pink cheeks. Oh. God no. Please. Please don't kill her.

She was lost for words as Scabior neared her carefully. When he was two feet away she snapped back to reality and pointed the wand in his face. Scabior paused but didn't move backwards. Coral's eyes flickered from his smug expression to Greyback. He had one hand holding her chin and the other bracing her shoulder. One twist of his arm and she would be gone forever. Just like that.

"Let go of her first, then I'll chuck my wand to you. You're faster anyway so that's completely fair." Coral bargained with Scabior. Her eyes were steady on his but her voice shook.

"'Ow about you chuck me my wand an' _then_ we'll give ya your friend." Scabior said, his posture showed how infuriatingly calm he was with the situation.

"No." Coral answered, her voice thin and quiet. She cursed herself for not sounding more confident.

"Why not?" Scabior asked, cocking his head to one side, eyes flicking over her body.

"Because I don't trust you." Coral's right arm tensed.

"That's rich comin' from you!" Scabior said.

"I'm waiting..." A gravelly sing-song tune rose from Greyback's chest. Phoebe whimpered, her eyes shut, as he stroked her neck, leaning in and burying his nose in her hair. Phoebe was now white with pure fear.

"Yeah? Well so am I!" Coral snapped, swivelling her arm round to Greyback. Her hand was shaking a lot worse now. Greyback smirked, brushing a clawed finger over Phoebe's shoulder.

Her internal emotions battled it out; _do I give in? Or do I fight? _The second one seemed ridiculous as soon as she thought of it. Fight Scabior? She had more chance of stumbling upon a dragon and having a conversation about mushrooms with it. Coral bit her lip to stop her smiling at the notion.

"Greyback let 'er go." Scabior told him stiffly. Coral's eyes flicked over to him, trying to sense a small smile or a wink at Greyback or something to show he had something up his sleeve, as he usually did. But there was nothing.

Coral narrowed her eyes.

Greyback reluctantly let Phoebe go, giving her a little shove over in Coral's direction. Coral stepped forward and enclosed the smaller girl in her arms. Phoebe was too shocked to say anything but wrapped her arms around Coral's waist.

"It's okay." Coral whispered, rubbing a soothing hand over Phoebe's back.

"Touchin', really." Scabior's callous voice cut through the dark. Coral had had just about enough.

"Don't you dare." She aimed the wand back at him. Her hand wasn't shaking with fear anymore. It was shaking with anger.

"Don't you dare what?" Scabior's lips were pulled back in a sneer now as he challenged her. Greyback's finger itched on his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Coral yelled at him. Scabior flew back and landed on his back. Greyback ripped his wand out and was advancing when she cast the same spell and got his wand. She told Phoebe to hold it.

Coral was speechless. _How the fuck did I do that?_ She wasn't sure whether being around magical people had rubbed off on her or something, or that anyone could handle a wand, but whatever it was she was just bloody lucky it worked. Out of all the spells she had heard and memorized, this one was one of the most popular ones and didn't seem that difficult.

"Am I dreaming?" Phoebe said, looking up at Coral through wet eyes. Coral decided it better to fuel this thought as it was better her not knowing about anything.

"Yeah, babe - it's just a dream." She managed a weak smile for her friend. But while she was distracted, Coral was grabbed around the waist and thrown to the ground, near Scabior who was now stirring. She struggled to inhale a breath as she watched him next to her. It was all too real now. Between hyperventilating and trying not to pass out, Coral tried to figure out how her plan had turned out so wrong.

"Run!" She choked out at Phoebe who threw her the wands and sprinted back to the house to get help.

Scabior moaned before awaking. He swung a leg over her two and pinned her arms to the ground.

"Greyback grab the wands." Scabior said, smirking down at her.

"Now as I was saying earlier, you've been a very bad girl..." Scabior leaned down and whispered against her ear.

**A/N: Please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Omg thank you so much for the lovely reviews seriously I read Anna's one and came straight back here to work on it so thanks!**

"Please." She whispered, her eyes watering.

"Please what?" He asked as he nipped at her neck sharply.

"Please don't." She managed to say, although her throat was closing up with fear quickly.

"You know," He leant back and sat on her hips, "After everything we've done together I'd at least expect you to enjoy it."

"You stupid fuck!" She exclaimed, her hands pounding against his thighs.

"Ow!" He gasped in a mock hurt, grabbing her wrists and pinning them to the ground.

"I'd suggest you followed my rules, cause remember, Doll, Greyback's been in the process of grabbin' those wands for quite a while now..." He trailed off.

"Don't let him touch her, I'll do what you want just leave her out of it." Coral backed down. "Please." She added.

"Greyback!" Scabior called towards the house and there was a roll of thunder and Greyback had appeared beside them.

"Did you touch her?" He asked, uninterested.

"I got the wands back." He replied, avoiding the question.

"She's fine." He smirked down at Coral, who's face had turned pale.

"Right." He said standing up and pulling her with him. She was frozen stiff with fear.

"Back to camp then?" Greyback grunted.

"Yep." He said, clutching Coral tighter.

In a loud crack they were all back at the camp. Coral could just about see the moon behind the tall, ragged trees. Coral wavered as nausea hit her.

Scabior noticed her expression, holding her slightly further away, "Don't even think about it-"

"Bleurgh." Coral grunted as she spewed up chunks all over his boots.

Scabior gave a deep sigh before grabbing her hair, walking her inside and chucking her into the bathroom, the door shutting loudly behind her. Coral landed in a heap on the floor.

"Dick!" She yelled through the door as pieces of vomit landed on the ground.

"Try an' aim it in the toilet this time, eh love?" He called back in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

Coral coughed again, but this one was more choked. Here she was, back in his tent. She wasn't really surprised anymore. She had always figured she would come back to this place, no matter how much she wished the idea away. Well now it looked like she was here to stay.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Scabior sat outside, his wand in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. He was buzzing, every nerve of his being on end. Maybe it was that triumphant feeling of regaining one of his favourite possessions. Whatever it was it was so strong it made him faintly nauseous.

Scabior siphoned away the last of the vomit off his shoes and stubbed out his cigarette.

"I need a drink." He announced to the others who agreed instantly. "We'll leave for the Leaky Cauldron in a minute." He told his group before striding inside to check on Coral.

Scabior got to the door and knocked twice before trying the door handle. It was locked. But with a flick of his wand it swung open.

"Shit." Coral said, her face over the toilet.

"Come 'ere." Scabior said, pulling some hair off her damp face and cleaning the remaining lumps off with a towel he had conjured out of thin air. He stroked her brown roots as she spat the last out noisily.

"Thanks." Coral muttered, standing and washing her mouth out in the sink.

"God you look like shit." Scabior chuckled as she leant against the wall.

"Well it's your fault!" She yelled. Her hands would have flown up in anger if she wasn't feeling so physically weak.

"How?" He scoffed.

"You brought me here!" Coral shouted again. She winced as her head started a painful throbbing.

"Yeah but you didn't have to throw up everywhere did ya?" Scabior replied, his voice cold and raised.

"You know what?" Coral said quietly, "Fuck. You." She finished calmly, pushing past Scabior and aiming for the door.

But before she could lay a finger on the handle Scabior's arm had swooped round and clamped down on her shoulders. He yanked her back, his other hand snaking around her arms, holding them against his stomach.

"Now if I was you I'd be keeping my tone a little more friendly." He purred in her ear.

"Get off." She said barely above a whisper. Silence.

"Let's get drunk." His tone changing to matter-of-fact. Scabior let her arms go but kept that arm around her shoulder. He walked her possessively outside, showing the others that she was still his and always would be.

They apparated to the pub and shoved their way inside, Coral still tucked under Scabior's arm.

"Get off." She mumbled again, pushing him away weakly as they got to their booth.

Coral was pushed down onto the seat and scooted in right between Greyback and Scabior. _Fabulous._ There was barely enough room for all of them, Greyback and Scabior's forearms resting on the table, boxing her in. In fact there wasn't enough room.

As Jared and Filkins sat down on the end, they shoved into Roland who pushed back, knocking the pale, moody teen on the ground.

"Hey!" Filkins said.

"Oh fuck off." Roland muttered, signalling for the barmaid to sway over to their table. Filkins looked up at the others incredulously before storming off.

"I quit." He yelled over his shoulder, slamming the heavy wooden door on his way out. Nobody but Coral even noticed him leave. Coral stared after him, glad there was one less prick in Scabior's pack.

"What do you want to drink, dahlin'?" Scabior leant back and slung his arms over the back of the booth, accidently brushing Greyback's large shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Greyback snarled over Coral's head. She shrunk lower in her seat.

"You know you like it." Scabior winked at Greyback, giving him another nudge.

"Fuck off." Greyback growled louder, his eyes fixed on the barmaid.

Scabior chuckled, scanning the bar area.

"I need the toilet." Coral mumbled, standing.

"No you don't." Scabior replied, grabbing her thigh and shoving her back down with a thump.

"Are we just going to sit here and get so drunk we can't see anything?" Coral asked bitterly.

"That's pretty much the idea." Scabior watched as the barmaid took Jared's order and walked off.

Coral wondered if it was worth pretending to get drunk and then escaping. It seemed like an awfully farfetched idea but she had to give it a go.

"So what will it be?" He asked, his hand resting at her collar.

"Whiskey, and lots of it." She gave him a smile which she honestly thought was convincing. He bought it.

"Good choice." He said deeply, planting a kiss on her head. Coral shivered.

It took no less than two hours for Scabior to get suitably slaughtered. Coral had seen him go through the stages of laughing, napping, shouting and now touching; her. A lot.

"Are you not drunk yet?" He slurred, eyes unnervingly alight for someone who was supposed to be completely out of it.

"Totally." She shrieked, her fake grin fooling him well. Scabior grabbed the back of her head and smashed his lips upon hers. He broke away and then downed another tumbler of Scotch.

"Jesus Christ." She muttered, wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve.

"I'm 'aving that barmaid." Greyback said lowly, breaking the silence he had maintained all evening.

"Same." Warren muttered, gulping the rest of his drink down and glaring at her, an awful smirk on his lips. Coral saw Greyback order the others to move along so he could get out. Coral's eyes darted from him to the barmaid to Warren. Quicker than she thought possible, Coral slid underneath the table and crawled out the other end, beating them to the girl.

"Run." She leaned over the bar, hissing to get the girl's attention.

"What?" She looked up underneath a delicate blonde fringe.

"Just get out of here please, for your own sake. I can't stop them." Coral hoped the desperation in her voice was evident enough.

"What do you mean you can't stop-" She looked up and saw the approaching giants.

"Thanks." She added, darting around the corner and out of sight.

Coral sighed and closed her eyes in relief.

"Where did she go?" A voice echoed behind Coral, forcing her eyes to snap open.

Suddenly a hand twisted in her hair and pulled it backwards, making her cry out. Another hand closed around her neck, yanking her backwards.

"What did you say to her?" Greyback snarled in her ear. A waft of liquor came round and stung her nostrils.

"Nothing I swear." Coral whimpered as she felt Warren's hands tug at the hem of her trousers.

Back at the table Scabior's eyes had wandered over to the pair over at the bar.

"Ah, that must be the barmaid." Scabior chuckled, rolling his empty glass around in his hands.

"Mate, that's Coral." Roland mumbled, a stupid smile on his face.

"You what?" Scabior suddenly yelled, his glass rolling off the edge of the table.

"Yeah." Jared said, amused at Scabior's expression.

"Those cunts are dead." Scabior spat, clambering out of the booth like an animal.

He stormed over to Warren, grabbed the back of his jackets and threw him to the floor before stomping down on his crotch, making him whine like a little girl.

He then retrieved his wand and faced Greyback who was staring tauntingly, wand still in pocket.

"Crucio!" He yelled, pointing his wand at Greyback's neck. Greyback crumbled instantly, dropping to the floor, foam at his lips. He continued to grunt and shake until he was no longer moving. A spark of green light confirmed Scabior's wishes.

"Scabior, why..." Coral whispered, staring down at the lifeless body of the werewolf.

"Cause I love ya, alright?" He shouted back, sweat forming on his brow. He stood up straight, burped once, and then collapsed next to Greyback.

Coral just stood over them, too stunned to even breath.

Jared and Roland got up from their seats hesitantly and edged closer to the group of bodies.

"Is he?" Jared looked at Greyback.

"I think so." Coral answered, her voice breaking slightly.

"What about-" Roland started.

"No, he's just unconscious." Coral said, eyeing Warren with disgust.

"Can you guys help me get Scabior upstairs?" She asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Sure." They both muttered, Jared grabbing his arms and Roland taking his legs. They hauled him up the rickety stairs which were far too narrow for comfort, and dumped him on the first bed with an open door.

"Thanks." Coral smiled at them, sitting next to Scabior who was beginning to snore. "You should probably get some sleep."

"What about the bodies..." Roland turned to look down the corridor.

"The Pub's closed for the night so no one else will come in. We'll sort it in the morning." Coral said, standing up to usher them out. "Night." She called as they dragged their feet along to another room.

Coral locked the door and went into the bathroom. She grabbed a dirty flannel which was on the side of the bath, gave it a quick wash with some yellow soap and wrung out the cold water. She walked back through and placed it on the table. Coral heaved his torso up so she could remove his leather jacket, and then she let him flop back down, making the mattress groan. Coral took the flannel, placed it on his forehead, took his shoes off along with her own, and crawled in beside him.

**A/N: I know I've been prolonging this moment for far too long, so please tell me what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: So many exams and revision and stuff going on at the moment so if I haven't updated my stories in a while - that will be the reason. Anyway, have fun with this chapter and thank you so much for reviewing!**

A deep heavy breathing woke Coral from her sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, eyes blurring as she focused in on the face next to her. Coral was not the least bit surprised at having woken up beside him. She was thankful that instead of drinking last night she had managed to pour it down into a crack in the floor without being noticed. Coral winced as an odour of smoky, liquor tinged morning breath hit her in the face. She moved her face away from his and grimaced as she felt something sticky on her cheek. Coral looked down at the pillow to see that she had rolled over and ended up sleeping in his drool. Great.

"Ugh." She muttered, rolling back over and stepping out of the bed. She entered the bathroom and washed her face before walking back through and standing at the end of the bed, arms folded.

"Scabior." She said once, and then a pause. There was no change in his demeanour. In all honesty he looked like he had been hit over the head with something very heavy.

"Scabior." She said louder. People next door would be able to hear her now.

Coral sighed, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. She walked over to the bed and gave him a prod in the cheek. "Scabior." She hissed, trying to roll him onto his back.

"Oops." She said as she flipped him over and onto the floor. Coral hadn't realised how close to the edge of the mattress he was. He landed with a loud thump on the ground, making the floor boards creak.

Scabior gave a groan and cursed. He opened his eyes and glared at her.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" He asked quietly, his voice dripping with acid.

"I didn't mean to." She answered, trying to refrain from giggling.

"What time is it?" He asked, getting to his feet slowly. He paused midway as a wave of nausea hit him.

Coral's eyes widened, recognising the expression. "Bathroom." She said, grabbing his arm and rushing him to the toilet. He threw up noisily, but managing to keep it in one place.

"I can't remember the last time I threw up from drinking." He mumbled, spitting into the loo.

"Neither can I." She said, patting his back and trying to think. Last night he had announced he loved her. What the hell was she supposed to do with that? He was drunk though, so he probably didn't mean it.

"Did you mean what you said last night?" She asked quietly, looking down at the nails on her left hand.

"What did I- oh shit." He swore as he remembered. Scabior wiped his hand on the back of his mouth and then washed it out in the sink. He reached for his wand and closed his eyes, trying to remember the hangover cure he had concocted back when he was a teenager.

"Well?" She asked, desperately wanting to know the answer, although unsure why.

Scabior ignored her, muttering an incantation to reduce the feeling and clean the inside of his mouth. When finished he ran the tip of his tongue over his teeth. "Works every time." He mumbled with a grin.

"Scabior!"

"Fine I was lyin', alright? Is that what you wanted to 'ear?" He plonked himself down moodily on the edge of the tub.

Coral sat there, a little shocked at the outcome. She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"So you don't love me?" She asked in a broken voice, still completely unaware of why she cared. She was sure he meant it. Drunk people have a tendency to spew out the truth without thinking about it.

"No." He replied with a stony expression.

"Oh." Coral slumped forward more, her arms instinctively curling around her knees.

They both sat there awkwardly for a minute.

"So why didn't you let me go, why keep coming after me even though I'm just another girl?" Coral stared up at him with wet eyes.

"I never said you were just another girl." He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Scabior wasn't really sure why he was being like this, maybe she had done the impossible and brought out his sensitive side.

Coral suddenly burst out in tears.

"Woah, what is it?" He asked, holding her at arm's length. Scabior didn't do crying.

"So why am I here?!" She nearly yelled, her eyes blazing.

"Cause I like 'aving ya around!" He yelled, giving her no time to interrupt, "I like 'aving sex with ya and I like talking to ya and I just like hangin' out with ya. Okay? I don't do _'love'_," He said the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth, "I like you, Coral, but I don't do the emotional shit so either you stay 'ere or you go. And if you wanna go I won't stop you again."

Coral had stopped crying and was again stunned into silence. Was he giving her a free invitation to leave? She wasn't even sure if she wanted to take it or not. It was like he had latched into this part inside of her and it would feel weird if he wasn't around. But she then thought of all the horrible things he had done. This was a man who sold people to their death, killed others and raped women. But he looked broken now. His cocky arrogance was gone. He was just there, stripped of everything that made him Scabior. He was almost unrecognisable.

Coral looked up again at him. Her eyes searched his for something, anything, which might explain what had just happened.

Scabior's heavy breathing had finished from his outburst now and he just sat there, looking blankly at the ground.

"I'm seventeen." She said, standing and looking down at him, "You've taken me right out of college education and I almost definitely won't be able to go back into it now. I'm independent so if I wanted to live away from my parents I would be able to buy a flat normally, so I could stay with you."

Scabior's head shot up, his eyes suddenly alight.

"But if I stay there have _got_ to be changes." She said, her face twisting slightly with the memories of earlier occasions with him.

"I'm sure I can manage." Scabior smirked, his cocky self back.

"No, don't fuck around, I'm serious this time." She told him, feeling confident in her talking because he was now shorter than her. Scabior's head snapped up again and he rose to his full height, walking towards her.

Not anymore.

"What changes?" He said, leaning an arm on the doorframe next to her head.

Coral swallowed before continuing, "You cannot make me go to bed with you if I don't want to, because that's rape and it's one way of driving me away immediately and forever. I also don't want you torturing any other people, that includes killing too."

"Anything else?" Scabior asked, his face indicating that his patience was running thin.

"If I stay then I don't want any more confusion. I am either on your side or not." She finished, daring a gaze back up at him.

"Fine." He told her, running a hand over her hair. "Then you 'ave to change your 'air back. I liked it better when it was brown."

"Okay." She agreed, allowing herself a small smile. Scabior smiled triumphantly before walking back through to the room. Coral sighed deeply, wiping the wet from underneath her eyes and wondering whether he'd been hurt before. It was a likely option, seeing as he didn't do the whole 'love' thing. But someone had once told Coral that love was weakness, and she was sure that Scabior felt that way too. Coral just hoped that he wouldn't give her a reason in the future to feel the same way.

She exited the room and fond him lying on the bed, picking dirt out from under his nails.

"Want a quick shag in the shower?" He asked playfully, letting his eyes run over her legs.

"It's the way you sell it." She scoffed, chuckling on her way out.

Coral walked down to where Jared and Roland were sleeping and knocked on their door.

It swung open to reveal a half naked Roland, "Shit!" He said, running back and putting a t-shirt on, "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine." She gave him a reassuring smile. Coral frowned for a second, "Where's Alex?"

"Oh, he didn't come with us last night. I think he's spending the week at some bird's house somewhere."

"Right." Coral pushed past Roland and sat down on the bed. Jared then walked out with a towel round his waist.

"Jesus couldn't you knock?" He asked, reaching for the nearest top he could find

"Look, I'm not interested in _your_ bodies," She sighed, "Just the ones downstairs."

"Ah, yeah." Roland said, frowning as he remembered.

"Yeah, so what are we going to do?"

"I'll think of something." Roland replied slowly.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back at camp everything had changed. Greyback was no longer there, Warren was sporting a black eye courtesy of Scabior after he had woken up, Alex had returned after breaking up with his girlfriend, and Scabior had his arm wrapped around Coral's waist.

But this time, Coral was smiling.

**A/N: Please review! I'm thinking of ending the story here, and maybe making a sequel with Coral and Scabior in a relationship but I don't know. Tell me what you think!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I made this chapter to end the story, so if it's a little short that will be why. I got a dog recently so I'm gonna write him into the story cause I love him so much.**

Coral's long brown hair was yanked viciously by a pair of paper scissors as she tried to take the gum out of the ends.

Scabior walked into the bathroom but said nothing.

"It was getting too long anyway." She grumbled as he smirked at her. The chunk of hair fell into the sink and vanished as Scabior waved his wand behind her. She spent the next four minutes evening it all up until it fell to just below her shoulders. She followed him outside and perched herself on a log and watched as he brought out a packet of Marlboro Lights.

"I thought you got Marlboro Reds?" She asked, indicating to the packet.

"They're a bit harsh on my throat." He replied, absent-mindedly scratching his neck.

"You're a big softie at heart, aren't you?" She said with a smirk.

Scabior lit the cigarette and took some deep tokes, "Well I don't wanna end up sounding like Greyback now, do I?"

"Suppose so." She agreed.

Silence descended but only opened a couple of seconds.

"Well he's a lot quieter than he used to be." She commented.

"He's dead."

"That's what I mean." She said and they both chuckled.

Roland, Jared, Alex and Warren emerged from the tent, some yawning. It was too early to start snatching yet but they liked to get up before hand so they could grab a ciggie and have a decent breakfast.

"There's been a lot of shit going on recently, which is why we had to live off stealing from muggles," Scabior started to announce, "But now we're getting back to snatching so I want you all ready by 7."

"There's only five of us now." Jared stated.

"And?" Scabior stood, a sarcastic expression indicating it was too early for this shit.

"Well I reckon Greyback counted for at least two men, but now he's gone we're gonna need some new people."

Scabior sighed in reply before sitting back down and scratching his stubbly cheek.

"Or we could get a dog?" Coral poked his arm.

"What? No!" He scoffed at her.

"Don't you like dogs?" Roland cut in.

"Look, they're expensive to feed, they smell bad and they don't follow orders."

"Sounds a bit like Greyback then." She replied. Warren chuckled.

"The answer is no." He finished.

Coral smiled, "I'll start looking then." Scabior then sent her a murderous gaze but she winked and went back into the tent to grab some things.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Say hello to Gunner." Coral announced, walking beside a massive brown dog.

"You didn't." Scabior growled.

"I did, seeing as we need more snatchers. Anyway, how many people did you catch today again?"

"One. Nearly." Roland replied, walking over to Gunner and scratching him behind the ears.

"Fine," Scabior pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up, "What do we need to know about 'im?"

"He's seven, doesn't like other dogs, and he's a Rhodesian Ridgeback crossed with a Husky." She beamed.

"Oh great, so he's really strong." Jared said, walking over and getting down to Gunner's level and scratching his chest.

"Yeah." Coral lead him over to the tent and chuckled as he growled at Warren as he passed them.

**A/N: I know it's really short but please review and tell me how I'm doing!**


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